


The Arsonist

by K (Thiswasmydesign)



Series: Another path [2]
Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga), Death Note (Live Action TV), Death Note (Movies), Death Note: Another Note
Genre: Darker L, Developing Relationship, Gen, Handcuffs, Investigator Light/Kira, Kira the attack dog, Light is still Kira, M/M, Rem hates humans, That's his excuse anyway, The Death Note has a mind of its own sometimes, no not like that, okay maybe like that but not yet, ryuk/mello (platonic)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-12
Updated: 2018-02-13
Packaged: 2019-03-04 01:41:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 53,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13353840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thiswasmydesign/pseuds/K
Summary: In theory, L has won. Light is imprisoned, Misa is gone, and the Death Notes are both in L's possession. The world should be safe from Kira now, right?L sees potential in Light, and wants him to join as an investigator, especially when a new case looks to be beyond the explanation of the human world as L had always known it - before Shinigami changed all of that.





	1. The Deal With Rem

**Author's Note:**

> I logged back in a few hours after posting the first story I have attempted for years, and found it already had a number of views, kudos and no flames. Thank you all. Since writing this chapter, this story is rapidly filling my handwritten notebook with ink. This will be a longer fic.
> 
> As always, I don't own Death Note. Or an actual Death Note. Seriously, the world is better off without me having one of those, they're dangerous in the wrong hands. I am sipping coffee out of my Death Note mug as I write this, but that's all I own.

L had always been confident that Light-Kira would ultimately accept his offer to join him in his investigations. He deduced this because this is exactly what he, L, would do if faced with Light’s current options. Of course, there was the problem of a certain skeletal Shinigami who always hovered at L’s shoulder.

Even softened by a constant ready supply of oranges, Rem was not happy with the idea that Light would at some point be allowed to walk free of the cell after his role in the death of Misa.

“He wouldn’t just be free to go,” L tried to reassure the quietly dangerous Shinigami. It was very clear that she did mean business about this since the pile of oranges on the table had gone untouched for the last half hour. “He wouldn’t get the Death Note. It would be locked away no matter where we go – unless it was absolutely necessary to use it, of course.”

L’s gaze absently twitched to his own Death Note, lying innocently on the table beside him. He now knew only too well the pull of those blank pages. Both of his last two cases had ended with the deaths of his prime suspects. The agencies that had hired him had quietly accepted this, since both serial murderers were stopped, but the news and media were somewhat more challenging. The rumour was that L had joined forces with Kira, whose killings had otherwise stopped 23 days after Light was locked in his cell, and one week before L had succumbed to the pull of his own Death Note.

If only they knew that recruiting Kira was exactly what L had been trying – and failing – to do in the last seven weeks.

“Don’t you think it would be punishment enough for him to be chained to a person he hates, 24/7, with absolutely no privacy, investigating crimes but never getting the credit for any of his success?” L argued again to Rem, who just huffed.

“He would never speak of it, but Light Yagami did not hate you, L Lawliet,” Rem explained, as patiently as L was confident that she could manage. “I am not sure it would really be much of a punishment at all.”

“Really?” L didn’t even bother to hide a certain curiosity at that. The Shinigami may not like him, but he was in charge of the supply of oranges, so he trusted that she would not spill his secrets to the others. Besides, she could see right through any secrets he had previously tried to keep. Hell, she could see through Light’s manipulations too. Her emotional intelligence was perhaps greater than his and Light’s. “Still, do you think he would ever admit that? It would just add another layer of torment for him, wouldn’t it?”

“Such a secret would not last forever,” Rem warned. “There needs to be more.”

“He wouldn’t be able to visit his family – at all,” L tried.

“He doesn’t care for them deeply enough for that to matter.”

“Is there any condition that actually would satisfy you, Rem?” L asked, prepared for the Shinigami to say no and having to find a plan to get around this. Instead, the skeletal Shinigami fell silent.

“I… will think on my answer.”

“That’ll do for now,” L smiled reassuringly. “Would you like some orange juice?”

The Shinigami huffed, but accepted the glass L poured for her anyway.

 

* * *

 

 

Three days later, Rem finally interrupted a conversation between Watari and L to make a sudden announcement.

“The only thing that would truly hurt a man like Light Yagami is to damage his pride,” she explained. “It would be possible to do this in many ways. You have already proposed a few, such as the handcuffs. However, I would like there to be more – perhaps a way to punish him if he were to step out of line?”

“What are you suggesting?” L asked curiously.

“I have been watching the humans who live nearby. Some of them keep pets. I have seen how they are trained to be obedient,” Rem explained, amusement twinkling in her eye. “Most use treats – that would be useless, as it wouldn’t upset him deeply even if it does hurt his pride. But I have seen a few, mostly dogs I think, with straps around their neck – and when they misbehave, the human presses a button and the dog gets a shock.”

L spat out his banana smoothie, covering the part of the sofa on which Rem was seated.

“You want me to put a shock collar on him?” L asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Rem nodded solemnly, though her eyes still glinted with amusement. “That would do.”


	2. Teething problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A deal is made.

It took L an alarmingly long time to convince Rem of the relative benefits of _not_ collaring his favourite Kira. It didn’t help that every argument he could find against it seemed to be a positive in Rem’s eyes.

Fortunately he did have some time, as Light was still stubbornly refusing to bend. Three months of what should have been solitary confinement, had it not been for the Shinigami Ryuk, still had not convinced him to accept L’s offer or even to properly confess to being Kira. It was really starting to wear on his Shinigami ally, who was now kept amused by an endless stream of apples and multiple single-player games consoles. Even so, L knew it was only a matter of time before Light’s name ended up in the Death Note. Indeed, even the deals L had made to keep Light alive this long had only been made possible by Rem, who was far more invested in seeing Light punished rather than dead. But Ryuk’s patience, even with Rem’s input, was wearing thin.

In the end both the Shinigami and Light surrendered on the same day, with Rem agreeing that the handcuff could hold an electrical charge rather than a collar, and Light’s most recent clash with Ryuk ending with the promise from the Death God that if they were not free from the cell within 24 hours, Ryuk would write Light’s name in his Death Note.

After that it was a rush to get an electrified handcuff made – anything was possible when money was available, though Watari did twitch quite dramatically when L explained wat he needed, and though he would never show it was clearly mortified when placing the order.

The Death Note was locked securely away, with L deciding to lock his away too, but in a separate safe just in case. It would be far too dangerous to keep them around, especially since Rem had spoken his real name in the presence of so many others – although curiously she had not done so around Light. He really must remember to ask about that – was that due to one of the unwritten rules? L had begun to compile his own handbook of those but he felt he had only scratched the surface, as Rem was evasive unless a very specific question was asked. Apparently, it was another of the rules that a Shinigami did not have to explain the rules of the Death Note unless they were asked specifically, and she was not exactly a charitable type.

Releasing Light from his cell as soon as the handcuffs arrived, sparing him from the snarling Ryuk, who had been tapping his claws on the cover of his own Note since the argument earlier, L secured the handcuffs and handed Watari the key.

“I suppose you want a confession now?” Light asked, hostility dripping from his tone. L couldn’t help but be pleased that Light hadn’t tried to return to his previous perfect student pose around him. No, he continued to let the Kira side of him show through.

“I’ve waited months,” L shrugged. “It can wait a bit longer if it has to. Would you prefer cake or ice cream?”

L held out a spoon to Light, taking in just how thin the other man had become during his imprisonment. L had always ensured that enough food was provided, but Light had been too stubborn and had frequently spent days at a time refusing to eat, trying to use it as a bargaining chip.

“Do you have anything a bit less sweet?” Light asked, leaning over L to look into the fridge. L was sure that the gesture was meant to be intimidating, but with Rem constantly hovering, it just didn’t hold the same effect any more.

“We could order something?” L offered, noticing that Light was out of options if he would not eat the sweet foods.

“That would be best,” Light moved away. “You can explain the handcuffs though.”

“Hmm,” L caught the tip of his index finger between his teeth and pretended to think. “Wouldn’t it be better to let them make assumptions rather than explain that you are Kira?”

“Neither are assumptions that I would welcome,” Light warned.

“Wonderful,” Rem chipped in from her seat beside Ryuk on the couch, where they were talking quietly over piles of their favourite fruits. “L, please, encourage any _assumptions_.”

L shrugged, feigning helplessness to comply with the Shinigami’s request.

“Couldn’t Watari just collect it?” Light suggested.

“He’s my handler, not a butler,” L explained, sounding bored. “Besides, he’s already occupied. We need a case, you know, and Watari is our connection to the outside world. I really don’t make a habit of _field work_.”

The way L spoke betrayed his disgust at having to leave the tower, or wherever he was staying for his investigation at the time. It didn’t help that the tower constructed for the Kira investigation was so comfortable and filled with a ready supply of sugary treats.

L finally finished in the fridge, plate stacked high with cakes and sweets on top of a pile of ice cream. Light was stood back now, but glaring at him. L couldn’t help but notice, though, that the other young man was leaning ever so subtly against the kitchen unit beside him. Three months of under-eating and minimal movement really had taken its toll. Light would have hated to show such weakness.

“Matsuda used to keep the take-out menus in that drawer,” L pointed. “They can just leave it down in the lobby, or pop it in the lift I guess.”

Before Rem could pout too much L had poured her a glass of orange juice, and a glass of apple for Ryuk. Whilst no longer actively threatening murder, Ryuk had been conspiring with Rem ever since Light got out of his cell. He was acting a far cry from the joking, teasing Shinigami L had first seen when Light started his confinement. Fortunately his bond with apples seemed to be far more important to him than Rem’s with oranges, and L was confident that they would be able to convince him to cheer up once they had a case and things were interesting again.

Light was forced to move with L as he perched with his food, his attention on the Shinigami quietly conspiring together.

“Watari should be back with a case in the next twenty-four hours,” L told them. “Now I know things have been dull recently, and I don’t expect the next case to be half as interesting as the last one. Light definitely made this a challenge.”

“I still don’t think I’ve ever confessed to being Kira,” Light grumbled.

“Honestly? At this point I don’t see why it bothers you,” L mused. “Arguing is just childish, and you’ve already lost. Unless Light thinks that if he confesses he will go to prison?”

“Wouldn’t I?” Light snapped. “You are far more childish than I am, L. _If_ I were Kira, how would I be sure this wasn’t all being recorded in preparation for a trial?”

“I think I’d rather keep you,” L mused casually. Light’s eyes narrowed. “But if you don’t believe me, that’s fine. We’ll go over the rules tomorrow with Watari. It will all make more sense then.”

“You’d rather keep me?” Light’s eyes widened incredulously. “Am I some kind of pet to you?”

“Hmm,” L’s gaze left his bowl to fix on Light. He knew he shouldn’t… but he had been bored for so long now… “I suppose you are. You do remind me of this dog I knew once…”

The sound of a fist hitting flesh had both Shinigami laughing immediately. L landed from where he was displaced from his chair, lifting directly into a crouch. His cheek throbbed. He had to admit, he hadn’t expected that. Light was usually so composed and restrained. It seemed that between the two of them, all bets were off.

“I suppose I deserved that,” L admitted. “I should confess that I’m actually rather glad you aren’t pretending again. You do seem rather tense still, though. I suppose it has been a long time since you last used the notebook. It does seem to have a bad influence. Still, an eye for an eye…”

L shifted swiftly into a scorpion kick, connecting with Light’s jaw. Light was thrown backwards, as L expected, but L was not quick enough to fully adjust to his stance and ended up tumbling after him, though he managed to land in a crouch rather than a sprawling heap like Light. The other man was picking himself up quickly, another fist swinging for L’s face.

“Fuck!” Light shrieked, snatching his hand back to his chest. “What did you do?”

Beside them on the couch Ryuk laughed hysterically whilst Rem grinned a disturbing sadistic smile, a small black box like a car key clutched between her claws. The claws closed together for a second time, sending Light reeling backwards, gawping at the Shinigami.

“This wasn’t part of the deal!” he accused L. L suppressed a twinge of guilt behind his amusement at Light’s current predicament.

“You never asked,” L pointed out, utilising Rems favourite argument when they discussed rules of the Note. “This probably isn’t the right time to tell you, but Rem actually would have preferred a shock collar.”

Light glared at the skeletal Shinigami, and L could almost imagine a glint of red in the usually brown eyes.

“Rem should be thankful that the notebook won’t work on Shinigami,” Light threatened hollowly before his gaze settled again on L. “It would work on you, though.”

“If you are Kira, as you still haven't admitted, and you had my name,” L amended. “And, really, Light?”

The shock that initiated again from the cuff jolted all the way through Light’s body unexpectedly.

“For as long as he holds my note book, L is mine to kill,” Rem warned him. “I won’t tolerate any threats toward him from _you._ ”

“But he was involved in Misa’s death too!”

“Indeed,” Rem’s gaze landed on L, who shifted instinctively so that his crouch was more suited to land a kick on the Shinigami – for what good that would do him. “Death, even a slow and painful death, is only a very limited punishment – although when the time comes, I am sure I can be very… creative. L _will_ also be punished, in time – but you, Light Yagami – deserve ever worse.”

“Argh!” Light’s whole body spasmed at the fourth shock.

“Now that wasn’t fair, he didn’t even do anything that time,” L’s sense of justice forced him to speak at the sight.

“He has done more than enough already,” Rem justified, but she did at least pocket the button.

Light and L picked themselves up from the floor. Light’s legs appeared to be shaking, making L wonder just how high the voltage was on this cuff. He made a mental note not to try to touch Light if the cuff was in use. He was also glad that the chain had a few links in it that isolated the conduction through the otherwise metal chain.

“You still need to eat,” he suggested, gathering up the take out menus and watching closely as Light settled onto a chair, obviously struggling to not simply collapse into it.

For better or worse, he really needed to recover his strength if there was any hope of him being of any use as an investigator.

 

* * *

 

 

Though L had enjoyed getting a rise out of his favourite Kira earlier, as they ate he couldn’t help but regret the loss of the last of the ice cream that was slowly melting into the carpet. Light ate silently, the Shinigami Ryuk showing Rem one of this DS games, so L took the opportunity to flick through the worldwide news channels, looking for any potential cases. It wasn’t long before he found news of plenty of murder cases, but all of them were solved or at least had an obvious suspect. Light looked rather tense as he watched, no doubt disgusted to see the huge increase in crime rate since the disappearance of Kira.

Even L had to admit that Kira really had shifted the problem away from innocent people, although he was no less of a murderer because of it.

If Kira were to return, no doubt the crime rate would drop again. It was unsettling to consider how the world may well react to that, especially if there were no further Kira related deaths of investigators or innocents. Direct proof of effectiveness of Kira would only cause L more problems. L’s posture shifted as he tried to shake the thought from his mind, reminding himself of the dangerous influence of the Note.

He had already given into it more than enough already.

“Am I meant to go back to my cell to sleep?” Light asked as the broadcast changed from the news to some childish cartoon.

“No,” L didn’t look up from his bag of Haribo. “The cuff, once fastened, will not be released. That was part of the deal.”

“Then how are we both meant to get any sleep?” Light tugged at the cuff a little, pulling L’s hand away from his food. L tugged back, scowling. “They’re hardly very comfortable, and the chain isn’t even that long.”

“If I were you, I’d be more bothered about bathing, showering and using the bathroom.”

“Hey, you are in the same set of handcuffs too,”

“True. But I do not have much of a sense of public decency or maintaining personal space, as you must have worked out by now,” L shrugged. “I imagine that much will bother you far more than it would bother me. I’m sure in time you will get used to it.”

Light drew a breath through his teeth but did not swing a fist. L was rather concerned that this was less due to self-restraint and more due to an awareness of how weak his still twitching muscles remained after being shocked four times from the cuff. Carefully, L did not let his concern show.

“I suppose you do need to catch up on your sleep,” L sighed. He did not usually spend much time engaging in that particular activity, fuelled as he was by sugar. Not to mention it was boring. But Light seemed to maintain a regular schedule for his own rest, so L would have to compromise. “Come along then.”

L led the way to a very large room – not originally designed to be a bedroom, more a meeting space, the size made necessary by the number of beds.

Against two of the walls were single beds, separated by a door through to the bathroom facilities. On the opposite wall was a singular large bed flanked by two wardrobes.

“There was not enough length in the chain for two single beds,” L explained. “We will be forced to share.”

“Who are the other two beds for?” Light puzzled.

“Rem and Ryuk, of course,” L frowned. “They don’t need sleep, but they are capable of it, so it would be rude not to give them beds. Besides, they can still feel comfortable while we sleep.”

Unspoken was L’s most prominent reason for wanting the Shinigami in the room with them. When he did require to sleep, he did not trust Light not to try to kill him, even without the notebook. There were more than enough heavy objects within reach that could be used to hurt of kill him. However, L was counting on Rem’s confidence that Light was being suitably punished to act in his favour to keep him alive if it should come to that. So long as she didn’t kill Light in the process, that would do her no harm. Ryuk was allowed to stay as well since L was sure if Ryuk dared to defy Rem, he would already have killed at least one of them.

“Perhaps Light would like to shower before sleep?” L suggested.

“No,” Light shifted uncomfortably, leaving L to wonder whether he was struggling to remain upright due to the effect on his muscles or if this was purely due to L’s proximity. “Let’s just get to sleep.”

“Wait,” Light froze. “How are we meant to change our clothes with the handcuff on?”

L shifted across to his wardrobe, pulling out a set of fluffy panda pyjamas.

“I don’t think we will be setting any fashion trends,” he explained as he demonstrated the fine hidden zip over the sleeve and left side of his pyjama top. The zip allowed the item to be put on without having to remove the cuff, and Light was sure his clothes would have a matching zip on the right side of his own clothing.

“But… how am I meant to get these off?” Light demanded to know, gesturing to the clothing he was wearing presently in which there was no zip. L offered a pair of scissors, panda-like eyes wide and fixed on Light from where he had taken up his usual perched pose on the bed. Light accepted them, disappointed to ruin the first suit he had a chance to wear in three months. “Can you turn away or something?”

“That would be a foolish idea,” L pointed out levelly. “I just handed a mass murderer a potential murder weapon. I should not turn my back.”

“Alright,” Light reluctantly accepted, “but you will turn away when I give you them back, right?”

“If you prefer,” L agreed, deciding not to argue when he recognised that Light had not even bothered to deny being a murderer – being Kira. He really must be exhausted.

Later, when Light had finally fallen asleep at the opposite edge of the bed, cuffed hand held awkwardly behind him to be as far from L as possible, L looked to Rem.

“The deal was that you wouldn’t shock him unless necessary,” he complained, an unfamiliar venom dripping from his tone.

“Do you enjoy being punched in the face?” Rem asked sarcastically.

“The first time was fair,” L allowed. “Even though it wasn’t actually necessary – I can defend myself, you know. The other three times… they were not.”

“What do you intend to do about that?” Rem challenged. “Light is at fault for Misa’s death. He deserves whatever he gets."

“Rem? Misa clearly meant a lot to you. But she is dead, and nothing you do now will bring her back. Just how long do Shinigami hold grudges like this?”

“You picked the wrong Shinigami to mess with,” Ryuk laughed from the opposite corner of the room. “Rem is the most patient Shinigami I know, and that is from a species that can gamble over games where a single round can last over 100 human years.”

Rem remained ominously silent for a long while in her corner.

“Gelus died for Misa,” she finally told L by way of explanation. “Humans are disgusting creatures. There was a man who was obsessed with her, who was going to kill her, and Gelus died to save her. And then _you_ and Light Yagami came along and you took that life from her, a life that Gelus was willing to die to protect. This is a grudge that I can hold for far longer than you will live.”

“Humans are disgusting?” L muttered aloud, realising something. “You never did care for Misa, did you Rem? She was just another human, like me and Light.”

“Of course I cared what happened to Misa,” Rem scowled, but L did not miss the distinction.

“Clearly it did matter – but not because of Misa,” L calculated a 97% probability. “You never really loved her. But you did love Gelus.”

“I…” Rem leaned back into her corner. If she didn’t still make such an imposing figure, L would almost describe it as cowering.

“You are angry because Gelus never even noticed you – he was too in love with Misa, am I right?”

Ryuk laughed. “Hey, I think he’s got that right.”

“And when you really think about it, his love for Misa caused him to ignore you. His love for Misa was also the reason he died,” L continued. “So Misa was to blame for Gelus being dead. She is the one you should blame for the loss of the one you loved. And logically, if that is true, Light and I actually helped you to get revenge on the real reason for your anger.”

L turned and curled up, ready to sleep.

“Just some food for thought.”


	3. Casefile #1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Terms are laid out and investigations begin.

A pile of papers rested on the coffee table when L and Light finally managed to emerge the next morning after the awkward struggle to each manage to shower – separately – despite the cuffs and chain. Rem was conspicuously absent, no doubt gone off to some other part of the building to dwell on L’s comments this night before. Ryuk remained with them, mostly making teasing comments – “You never seemed so shy when it was just the two of us, Light,” and delighting in making the boy sputter under the suggestion that Ryuk had been watching him at inappropriate times. It seemed the Shinigami was back on form following his confinement.

L would not even look at the files on the table, no doubt information from cases Watari had found for them to consider – until he had obtained a generous serving of Baklava and apricots, drizzled (drowned) with plenty of extra honey. Silently at the other side of the small kitchen Light prepared a much healthier yoghurt and fruit breakfast, occasionally pulling at the chain without intending to as it restricted his movements.

Watari waited long enough to observe the pair as they ate, uncertain what to expect but relieved to see they had both survived the first crucial twelve hours. L had predicted a 70% chance that they would, but an equally high probability that Light would attack him at some point in that time. Looking at the focal bruising – likely from a fist – on L’s face and the clear foot print on Light’s, an angry blue tainting his usually perfectly maintained features – the fight had occurred but had not been fatal.

“Ah, Watari,” L greeted rudely, “have you brought anything worthwhile?”

Watari picked up a file from the stack and held it out to L, who quickly dispersed the pages on the table.

“The French DST requested that you cast an eye over this case,” he explained. “They were happy to sign it over regardless of the new agreement.”

“Hmm,” L shuffled the papers back together. “Transparent, isn’t it? Don’t tell me they can’t work this one out for themselves?”

“I suspect it is more of an issue of making the charges stick in court,” Watari agreed.

“What did you tell them?”

“That you would take the case,” Watari admitted. “They signed the paperwork. Eleven people are dead – more than ten, so it meets the criteria you gave me – and the suspect is likely to strike again unless action is taken soon.”

“Indeed,” L held out the file to Light. “What do you make of it?”

“Another test?” Light took the file, leafing through the evidence. The papers were mainly in English, though witness statements were in French. Light’s French was not as good as his English, and it took him rather longer to go through the file than it did L. To his surprise, L didn’t make any attempt to continue to eat his unhealthy breakfast as he focused on Light.

It was a disgusting case, involving the murder and rape of eleven young women and girls. The connections were too obvious for an intelligent criminal to have overlooked – all the women attended or had recently graduated from the same college. The DST had notes on three suspects, males that had attended the school who had all been noted to demonstrate odd behaviour at the school and who had each dated at least one of the girls at some point. On the surface it was not obvious why the counter-terrorist agency would even be involved in this case, until reaching the last pages of the file. The eldest of the murder victims was the daughter of a high ranking DST officer, a fact very few people would have known.

“The killer must be Luis Marseille,” Light concluded aloud.

“Show your working,” L requested, as if this was some sort of school exam.

“There were eleven victims, but only one was the target – Bernadette Mercier,” Light laid down the photo of the agent’s daughter on the table. “If they only killed her, the target would be obvious and for some reason they wanted to hide that she was targeted. She couldn’t be the first or last victim or that would have been too obvious, so he started with Marie and Camilla.”

“Knowing, or hoping, that it wouldn’t stand out, Marseille would move on to kill his actual target, Mercier. Marseille knew she was related to the agent because his father worked with hers as the DST. "Maybe he was also counting on the DST suspect suspecting Arnauld, because he was Mercier’s boyfriend at the time. But Mercier was raised in a secret intelligence family, and would be used to keeping that secret from boyfriends.”

“What about the killings after?” L prompted.

“Well, he had to kill at least one more,” Light pointed out. “Otherwise his real target would be too obvious, and whatever he hoped to gain from killing her would be found out.”

“But why so many?”

“Well…” Light studied the pictures of the victims in order of death. Just how much would he reveal of the monster in himself that he had been so used to hiding? “Marseille had already killed four people. I think maybe… he _enjoyed it._ He was good at it, and looking at his background, he hadn’t had much success in life until then. Maybe he had even intended to stop at the four, but the fifth was more an impulsive killing? There was the longest gap between the fourth and the fifth girl, and he strangled her, but stabbed the rest. That’s also when the sexual assaults started. There’s no other good reason he would change his pattern.”

“How can we be sure that there will be more victims?”

“Because he’s gone too far now,” Light’s eyes gleamed red. “He’s already addicted. He wouldn’t be able to stop, even if he wanted to, and I don’t believe he does. And every time he kills he leaves less physical evidence. Eleven deaths and the only solid evidence they have is a partial print – you’re right, no matter how obvious it would never stand up in the court system.”

“Good,” L praised simply. “So, what are you going to do about it?”

Light stilled, neatly filed the pages away, and looked round at L.

“There’s not much I can do now, is there?” he finally spat, not bothering to hide how his writing hand clenched and released restlessly. “I can’t prove it any more than they can.”

“How certain are you that he is guilty?”

“At least 90%?” Light sounded unsure.

“Not good enough,” L scolded. “Why is there so much doubt?”

“There isn’t!” Light defended. “It would be arrogant to think it could be 100% in any case – I wasn’t there!”

“And you have to see it with your own eyes to be sure? How dull.”

“No.” Light snapped.

“Then it wouldn’t be arrogance to say you are sure. Try again. How certain are you?”

“About 99%,” Light sighed. “Maybe 100%?”

“Better,” L nodded, “I am too. Now, think about your next answer carefully. What would you, Light Yagami, do about this case?”

Was he really doing this? Light considered, then finally spoke slowly. “If I had the choice, I would write his name in the Note.”

“Then you admit to being Kira?” L confirmed, his unblinking eyes fixed on Light’s.

“… Yes,” Light nodded finally. The confession hurt deeply – it felt far too much like losing.

“Good,” L bounced out of his seat, a creepy wide grin splitting his face. Light assumed he was not used to smiling often. “Light-Kira was really starting to try my patience. At least now we can finally more forwards, and about time too, I’ve been getting so _bored!_ ”

Light gawped at L’s back as the older man punched numbers into three layers of a highly secure safe, bouncing from foot to foot like a child on Christmas morning – or a Shinigami seeing an especially juicy apple. It took a moment more for L’s words to sink in, or more specifically the form of address – Light-Kira. His other name being used as a strange replacement for an honorific, usually a mark of respect.

“Here, take it!” L offered out the black book eagerly once it was finally released from the fifth layer of the safe. Light frowned at it, completely confused. Was this some kind of trap?

“Shouldn’t we explain the rules first?” Watari quickly stepped in before Light could retrieve the Note, though his fingers were itching to just snatch it and begin writing. L pouted childishly, but tucked the note in to his chest and perched in his chair.

“Light,” Watari began, his tone heavy with both warning and resignation. “L has explained how… influential those books can be. I’m not sure that this is a good idea at all, but he is convinced that Kira’s – your – powers can be harnessed to actually do good in the world.”

“With that in mind, you will only get the Notebook back if you agree to follow certain conditions regarding its use.”

“Do you really think you could stop me, Watari?” Light growled. The Note was so close – if he could just reach out…

It would be useless, Light reminded himself. He still didn’t know Watari or L’s real names. Even if he had the Note he could not get out of this. Kira would have to play nice if he wanted any chance to change that in the future.

“Rule one. When not in permitted use, the note is to return to the safe,” Watari listed. “Rule two, the note is only to be used for cases when, without its use, it is certain that more people will be killed. Rule three, it should only be used when _both_ of you agree that there is a 100% probability that the one whose name you would write in the notebook is guilty. Rule four, the note must only be used in cases where the enforcing agencies involved in the case have agreed to sign over complete jurisdiction, including sentencing, to L. Rule five, if L makes the judgement that the criminal does not require death as a punishment, you do not use the Note. Rule six, no matter how tempting it may me, _neither of you_ are allowed to write each other’s name in the Note.”

“Is that all?” Light grumbled sarcastically.

“That’s all,” Watari was very serious.

“Does Light-Kira accept?” L stared at him with those wide panda eyes. On the one hand, accepting these terms would really restrict Kira’s influence, not to mention place him under the control of L. On the other, Kira would be able to continue to pursue justice and at the same time he would be able to solve some of the most challenging crimes ever committed. In the end it was a question of which was the most important – his pride or Justice.

“Fine,” he nodded. “I accept your conditions.”

Immediately, L’s arm shot out towards him again, offering out the Note. Watari sighed heavily, his head in his hands.

“Would Light-Kira like to close the case?” L offered. Light reached for the Note but, ever childish, L snatched it away, holding it out of reach. “What do we say?”

"Give me the notebook you arsehole?” Light pronounced carefully, sitting back to not give L the satisfaction of fighting for the book.

“Nooo,” L taunted, “what’s the magic word?”

Light wouldn’t sink so low, especially not with Ryuk cackling in the background. His fingers itched to get to the note, but he composed himself.

“Fuck off L,” he huffed, getting to his feet. “I’m making coffee, are you coming?”

“Hmmm,” L titled his head. “I am due more sugar.”

He sprang to his feet, beating Light to the kitchen to turn on the kettle. The Note was still in his hand and the kitchen was small, so Light had little trouble cornering him against the worktop.

“Give me the Note,” he demanded.

“Nope,” L grinned that creepy grin again.

Light lifted a butcher’s knife from the countertop behind L, hoping the detective wouldn’t recognise it for the hollow threat that it was.

“Give me the note, L.”

“Nope,” L laughed as Light lifted the knife to his neck – and fuck if that wasn’t the creepiest, most unnatural laugh Light had ever heard, too! Come to think of it he never had heard L laugh before…

“Should I get Rem?” Ryuk offered charitably from the sitting room, delighted with the current entertainment.

“Bloody traitor Shinigami,” Light grumbled, setting the knife down. No matter how annoying L was, cutting his throat was just not Kira’s style anyway. It would make far too much mess in any case.

Once he moved away L held out the Note again, this time allowing Light to take it.

“Why?” Light complained.

“Wanted to see how much you _really_ want me dead before I gave you a murder weapon, Light-Kira,” L grinned, pouring a cup of decent coffee for Light and a half-sugar cup for himself.

“I don’t want you dead, L,” Light lied effortlessly. “But…”

Even with a hot cup of caffeinated sugar syrup in his hands, L’s foot met with Light’s cheek at exactly the same moment Light’s fist collided with L’s face, the opposing forces throwing both of them back to the end of the chain but not ending with either of them hitting the floor as each held the other upright through the chain.

“That’s it kids, I’m getting Rem!” Ryuk was almost crying with laughter at the look of horror that Light shot his way before he left in search of Rem.

“I must say, L,” Light began once they had both quickly settled back onto their seats, their fight curtailed by the arrival of a certain human-hating Shinigami. “I never thought you would be the type to agree with the death penalty with how you fought so hard against Kira.”

“Then you haven’t been listening very well,” L looked surprised. “I distinctly remember telling you that I would ensure Kira was executed for his crimes. True, the punishment should only be reserved for the right circumstances, but this isn’t really that much of a leap.”

Although it was spoken as statement of fact, Light could detect the concern and imbalance underlying it as L internally questioned himself.

“Are you really going to let me close the case?” Light checked. By way of answer, L offered a simple child’s colouring pencil.

“A simple heart attack would be best, Light-Kira,” L requested.

Light let the notebook fall open to the last used page, his fingers brushing along the spine. Who knew when he would next get the chance to serve Justice? He wanted to make the most of it, perhaps a set of complex conditions that would ensure the death made the news and would allow him to check that this wasn’t a trick – but the Death Note did feel like the real one…

In the end he did leave things simple, picturing the face of Luis Marseille and perfectly printing the name into the Note.

The moment 40 seconds passed, Light felt a surge of relief and tension that he had not consciously acknowledged dropped away all at once.

“Feel better?” L checked, slurping at his sugar drink. “Can we move on to an _interesting_ case now?”

“Yeah,” Light shook his head to clear it. “Yeah, of course we can.”

“The Note,” Watari reminded. Light handed it over without complaint so that the old man could return it to the safe.

 

* * *

 

 

L filtered through the remaining cases quickly and brutally, discarding most within moments of opening the file.

“Boring… obvious… obvious… boring… what were they thinking? Dull… Hmm,” L paused over the last file, turning the pages more slowly. “Why did you bring this one, Watari?”

“I thought it might interest you,” the old man shrugged. “There have been three fires now, twelve dead, so it meets the criteria.”

“Four fires,” L corrected. “But the police have already arrested a suspect, and there have been no fires since…”

“I’ll leave it with you,” Watari gathered up the other files from the table. “Spend some time on it. If you agree with the police, we can leave it alone. However…”

“You think they’ve got the wrong person,” L finished. “Yes, I suppose I do see your point. We will consider the case and give you an answer before lunchtime. Bring cake.


	4. Casefile #2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> L and Light consider the case.

As soon as Watari left, the file in L’s hands scattered across the room in a flurry of organised chaos, L moving himself between the pages to adjust and correct his arrangement.

“Can I help?” Light asked, feeling strangely excluded as the detective crawled around him on all fours.

“Take a look,” L offered. “Don’t touch anything.”

Light forced himself to look away from the bizarre, almost unnatural movements of L to take in the floor, now covered in paperwork. He saw mountains, small settlements, a city street filled with people, flames leaping from one-two-three buildings in different settings, CCTV captures of the crowd in each both before and shortly after the first started and endless written pages that L moved between jerkily, the cuff occasionally forcing him to stretch and reach for pages but somehow not limiting him at all, even when his arm had to bend backwards across his body in a manner that absolutely could not have been comfortable.

A single headshot sat in the central place in this mess – not clearly a prison photograph at first glance, since the subject appeared so confident and controlled even as she glared daggers at the camera. The photograph was in colour, emphasising the stark contrast between the woman’s piercing emerald eyes, matched neatly with an emerald inset in a choker around her throat, and her fiery red hair, so bright that it made the flames appear dull. Her skin was pale enough to challenge L’s, though hers appeared more natural and less sickly, and was broken by a scattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose.

“This is the suspect?” Light wondered aloud before internally cringing. He of all people should know how deceiving appearances could be. He told himself that his doubt came from the lack of guilt in the red-head’s vicious gaze. Objectively he wondered how the police had reached this conclusion, especially as the woman was so highly attractive that he was sure more than a few officers would be swayed to not consider her a suspect if she only smiled at them – not that such a thing would affect him, of course.

“Hmm,” L confirmed, too focused on his scattered pages to pay attention to the implications of Light’s foolish query. He blinked, straightened a little, then returned to his reading. “Look at more than the pretty face, Light.”

Re-focused and determined to impress after such a blunder worthy of Matsuda rather than Kira, Light directed his attention to the stills of the locations of fires, neatly arranged by L into time sequence.

“She was at all three crime scenes,” Light confirmed aloud. “It that a pub? A club, and a restaurant?”

“Yep,” L scowled at him, unimpressed. Mortified, Light fell silent, determined to find something useful to say – something that might impress.

The woman was the only common feature that he could detect in the crowd at all three establishments. That was the obvious reason she had been arrested, though in all three photo arrays she had been no where near where the flames started. Around the times that the flames appeared, the photos were each time stamped views from cameras, each photo in the sequence one second apart. The police’s suspect was no where near the point of origin, though curiously neither was anyone else. The short time in which the fires went from a spark to an inferno suggested some form of accelerant, although the police reports showed no sign of anything found at the scenes.

“You’re missing the point,” L scolded, having stopped his movements and returned to his preferred pose. “Forget the papers.”

Light frowned, about to argue that the papers were all the evidence they had, when he remembered what L had said to Watari.

“Four fires?

“There we go,” L’s lips curled up at the edges but fell short of his creepiest grin, his tone seeming to imply to Light that he was being judged slow on the uptake.

“There is only evidence for three here,” Light pointed out, not happy that L would hide additional evidence for him.

“There were four. At least four,” L amended, beginning to gather the papers together.

“How do you know?”

“Because the first fire happened in Japan,” L explained. “Just down the road from here. Police never had a suspect, and in any case _they_ didn’t realise it was an arson. Their theory was that someone put a lit cigarette in a bin.”

“Then why are you so sure it’s part of the same case?”

“The method of ignition,” L pulled the three pictures containing the very beginning of the fire together and, after taking Light with him to retrieve a laptop computer, pulled up a picture of the Japanese club. “Take a look.”

Light considered; in all four pictures the flames started in a sheltered corner. In three they started in an empty corner booth, whilst in the other the origin was hidden behind the bar. The pattern of the fire was undeniably matched, with three lines of flame in each – vertically, left and right. The central flame was bright white, extremely hot, whilst the two on either side were more red.

“Whatever device is causing the blast is the same each time,” Light reasoned.

“Why do you assume there must be a device?” L asked, his head tilting curiously.

“There has to be. There’s no one near by when the fire starts and it always starts in the same pattern.”

“It does make the most sense,” L agreed, “about 50% for now. Do you think she’s guilty?”

“I couldn’t say,” Light considered. “There isn’t enough evidence.”

“Find it then. I don’t,” L informed him, opening some other files on his computer. “At the time of the fire in Japan, the police suspect Kimberley Gray was in the company of your father. She filed a report of domestic abuse and spent the night in the hospital. As you can see from the pictures, her injuries were sufficiently severe that we can be sure she was not on the scene that night.”

In the photos, Ms Gray’s abdomen was blue with bruising. As L flicked through the photos on the screen Light averted his eyes, deciding that he really didn’t need to see details of how the bruising extended below her abdomen, leaving her skin blue all the way down to her knees with no unaffected area between.

“Ms Gray had sufficient internal bleeding to require three units of blood transfusion,” L read from the report. “A fairly good alibi.”

“But she was in Japan?”

“Yes,” L nodded. “Indeed, the abuse occurred in the club that burned the next day. 30 percent that the person who beat her burned down the bar to hide evidence. Give Kimberley 1% for argument’s sake, since we cannot entirely rule out that she can start fires from a distance any more. 10% that she was involved, but not the one who actually did the burning, and 59% that the person who burned down the bar was doing this without her knowledge.”

Light nodded, not really caring about the numbers L quoted.

“She shouldn’t be in prison,” L concluded. “Right now the police don’t even have another suspect, and we are the only ones who have connected the fires to the one in Japan. I don’t want to pressure you, Light, I would rather our first proper case together be something we can both agree to investigate. We could send them a hint to direct them away from Katherine Gray, or we could take the case and find the real culprit.”

Light considered. If he was thinking purely as Kira, this case would never have even crossed his radar. Fire wasn’t a dedicated murder, or a rape, or even seemingly a targeted crime – at least at first glance. Kira was not interested in arson, and rarely got involved in cases of assaults, including domestic abuse. Of course, he saw the appeal to L. There was a mystery here that he had not been able to solve immediately. He could not explain who had started the fires, or for that matter, how. He wouldn’t like the unanswered question there, wouldn’t be able to let it go. Still, Light was surprised that L wouldn’t simply monitor the case from a distance.

“It seems a bit small,” Light puzzled. The very question made him wonder whether L had spotted something he hadn’t in the case, and made him question himself. What had he missed? Why was L so interested in taking this case over any other – why was this one not simply cast aside like the others?

No, Light wasn’t at all interested in the fires. He didn’t care how they had started. It was unimportant, small, not on the grand scale that Kira worked.

However, if Kira was to claim to be synonymous with Justice, he was at least a little bit bothered that someone was going to take the fall for a crime they didn’t commit, especially someone who had already been victim of some terrible treatment, at the minimum.

If he was being honest with himself, the injuries Ms Gray had sustained made him wonder if Kira should have looked a bit harder at all those domestic abuse cases. There was something even worse than murder in the torture that had been inflicted on the flame-haired woman, something sinister and slimy and grotesque that had Kira’s hands twitching for the Note.

Not to mention that there was something about the look in Ms Gray’s eyes that reminded him of his fierce younger sister. Kira was not swayed by such things; this had to be a reasoned, rational decision.

“I think we should take it.” Light suggested to L. “We can find the one who burned down the bars and how they did it.”

“The police haven’t signed over the right to sentence,” L warned. “Only to investigate.”

“Then we solve the case and let the courts handle the rest,” Light agreed. He wasn’t interested in whoever had set the fires, though he could admit that the puzzle was intriguing, “however, they aren’t even investigating the abuse case. They won’t suspect anything if whoever did _that_ to Ms Gray dies, especially if it’s not by a heart attack.”

L blinked up at him. “You know, I really shouldn’t be encouraging you to be breaking the rules so soon.”

 

* * *

 

 

Watari was asked to make arrangements for residence and travel to Katherine Gray’s home town as soon as a flight could be charted.

“I don’t like field work,” L complained, picking at a large bowl of midget gems. “If people do their jobs properly there should be no need for it. However, there are no agents or officers in the area who I trust not to miss things. We will need to move closer.”

“We aren’t going to have to appear in public like this though, are we?” Light asked, gesturing to the cuffs and chain.

“I imagine that would cause a stir, but I am also inclined to avoid that outcome if possible,” L agreed. “I don’t suppose our Shinigami friends would be interested in helping with the case?”

Rem fixed him with a look of judgement whilst Ryuk laughed and waved a dismissive hand, despite having flicked through the file himself with some semblance of interest.

“Then unfortunately we will need to involve others,” L considered. “I confess, I had considered this when I suggested we should take the case. It is close enough to home to provide a perfect chance for me to involve some young investigators to do the leg work and test whether they are capable of working together.”

“I thought you usually worked alone?”

“It is impossible to solve every case from behind a computer screen,” L explained. “To start, there must be someone vaguely competent to gather the initial evidence. The Kira case was a rare example of an investigation that was at least halfway capable of gathering evidence. Usually I have to involve others, agents that I trust who have the ability to act as my eyes.”

“I’m surprised you ever find anyone capable enough,” Light thought aloud, considering the officers he knew and judging them one by one.

“You met one of them, I think,” L looked curious, “Her name was Naomi Misora.”

Light didn’t have to think very hard to remember the woman who had almost managed to reveal vital information about Kira to the task force, who had only been stopped due to unfortunate timing when he got to her first. He winced, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, avoiding L’s penetrating stare.

“Yeah… sorry about that.”

“They never found her body, you know,” L actually sounded a bit angry.

“I couldn’t risk it,” Light explained. “She’d worked out too much. If she hadn’t died you would have won very quickly.”

“That’s true,” L considered. “Misora had rare ability. I would have liked to work with her again someday. I don’t suppose you know what happened to her body? I’m sure her family would prefer a real funeral.”

“I don’t,” Light admitted. “I just wrote that she should die by suicide in a way that she wouldn’t be found.”

“That was cruel,” L scolded. Light expected more, but L fell silent. As quickly as that, the truth was known, accepted, and dismissed.

“I have asked Watari to bring Mello and Near,” L explained. “They have both been training as candidates for the title of L, should anything happen to me in the future. I have been observing them for several years now, but I have yet to meet them in person.”

“So the point of this case is to see which one is best?” Light queried.

“In a way,” L nodded. “Both have a rather different skill set. I’m not sure that either of them are capable of taking on the role on their own, especially since whatever case they face first as L would be the one that had defeated me. I need to see if they are capable of working together, using one another’s strengths without killing each other.”

“Would they do that?”

“Oh. Yes,” L reached into his bowl for more sweets. Coming up empty, he lifted the plain white porcelain over his head and shook it, as if expecting more to rain down. When they didn’t, L discarded the bowl with a betrayed expression, and allowed his feet to drop from the chair. Light gawped at the sight of L sitting slouched in his chair like a regular human being. “Near and Mello have competed to be the best since the day they first came to Wammy’s house. Years of competition has created a dangerous rivalry. I encouraged it, of course – it would force them to improve their abilities without having to find another source of motivation.”

“What are you doing?” Light demanded, having not paid attention to a word L said. L looked down at himself, taking a moment to realise what was disturbing about his actions.

“Sitting. If I sat like that all of the time, I’d never be able to stand upright again,” L was casual about it, but in truth it was very rare that he indulged in such luxuries as slouching in a chair like this. It was also true that it was rare for him to have a casual conversation with another human being, and he was indulging in that easily enough with Light. Perhaps it should have been worrying that he was so ready to let down his guards and relax around Kira, of all the people in the world to trust, but he wasn’t going to dwell on it either. If he investigated the reason for his actions he was not sure he would like what he would find. “Near has always been the calculating one. I imagined for a long time that he would be most suited to taking the title of L, but no matter how often I test the two of them, Mello always surprises me. His ability is perhaps greater than Near’s, but there is something about him… he worries me sometimes.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well…” L gestured with long fingered hands, his open posture still disarming and strangely vulnerable. “I suppose… Say Near and Mello each had a Notebook. Near would study it, would try to pick it apart and put it back together again and found how it worked, and maybe he would use it as an experiment, to test its limits and its abilities. But he wouldn’t ever want to just use it for the sake of it.”

“And you think Mello would?”

“Mello,” L sighed. “I try not to think about it.”

“If you asked me, I’d say it seems obvious who would be the best choice,” Light suggested.

“I had started to think so,” L agreed. “I’m beginning to think that I might be wrong. I hope this case will prove it either way.”

“For what possible reason could a dangerous person be the better choice?”

“I think Mello will like you, Light-Kira,” L mused. “I look forward to the day you meet.”

“Because I’m also dangerous?”

“Because I think you are both very different people.” Mello was emotional, impulsive. He was everything Kira was not. True, he calculated his steps, measured his options… but then dove in head first, and not always choosing the path that L would have preferred, and yet he always seemed to reach the same conclusion as L and Near in investigations, often more quickly or with more certainty than his rival, and no matter how far he delved into the dark, he always came back from it unscathed.

On the other hand, L had always felt that Near was similar to him. They shared a world view, an investigative style, and everything he had thought was important before. However, Near had never expanded his investigation beyond the walls of Wammy's house, never dirtied the snowy white of his hands or his person with experience of the real world beyond those walls.

“Near reminds me of me,” L explained. “But Kira reminds me of me sometimes, too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, L is physically capable of sitting differently when he isn't working on a case and doesn't need his deductive reasoning to be at 100%. No, you shouldn't get too used to it.


	5. Greetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team gather.

If L had reported Light’s alter ego as Kira the younger man doubted the airport security would ever have let him pass. He could be wrong, given that they allowed him through even though he remained connected to L by a chain and cuffs. Watari had taken three days to return and confirm that all arrangements had been made. Light wondered how much to the time had been spent purely on this element of the whole arrangement.

August was fading into September, but the seasons ran differently here. The relative heat of the Japanese summer did not stretch so far as the United Kingdom, and especially not so far North. Here, the start of September was the beginning of the fade into the Winter. The temperature was at least ten degrees colder here than where they boarded the plane.

Watari offered Light an umbrella as they stepped outside of the airport. Since there had been no hope of passing unnoticed otherwise with the chain, Light and L walked closely side by side, chain hidden in their hands with only about an inch between them. It made opening the umbrella difficult and undignified as he tried to manage one handed whilst L, standing rigid, looked to be fixated by something outside the window.

“Are you alright?” Light queried. L was silent a moment more, until Watari laid a hand on his shoulder, the gesture reassuring.

“Come on,” L prompted, loping out into the pouring rain, his ease returned. He paused, rain soaking through his clothing, running into his shoes, before steeling himself and moving to the car awaiting them.

Light was still watching him, waiting for an answer as the car took off onto the motorway and headed North.

“I haven’t been here for a while,” L confided heavily.

* * *

 

If Light had thought that the flight or car journey would be boring he had been pleasantly surprised. As soon as they were settled in their seats on the aircraft Watari had produced a large quantity of paperwork which L distributed fairly equally between them. These were all the simpler case files, ones that L had designated boring or more recent requests for his involvement. Some files were topped with a red form, detailing the requests made by the police in regard to the case.

The red forms all remained in L’s pile, whilst yellow forms mainly were handed to Light. L kept a few of the yellow topped files as well, and Light quickly deduced that the forms related to how much involvement had been agreed beforehand. Yellow indicated a request to investigate without handing over jurisdiction, or cases Watari had found that would benefit from L’s input without a request being made.

The red forms suggested that L had been granted permission to take action to stop the offender if the case called for it.

Light had worked through his files without complaint. In some cases he was able to find enough information within the file itself to be at least reasonably sure of the identity of the offender and certainly enough to prove the case if the police would only look in the right direction. In others he would need to search the internet for more information, so he set these files aside after making notes regarding his reasoning so far.

Then L had taken a laptop computer from his bag, explaining in concise terms how it was able to connect to the internet and also not interfere with the aeroplane in flight. It annoyed Light that he was eager to use it to solve his stack of cases, but L kept it from him at first, finding answers to his own cases. He had traded the files and handed over the laptop after that, allowing Light to investigate the red files.

Now, sat in the car, L began to run through the files, wordlessly assessing both Light’s notes and his. Every so often he would telephone some law enforcement agency, politician, low life criminal or other associate and advise them on their cases. Intermittently he requested further searches for evidence to confirm their reasoning, or paused to eat Kendall mint cake.

Light took more interest leafing through the files L had set aside, the ones that they had all but solved. The red files had all been set aside as well, though Light could only honestly claim 100% certainty in about half of those cases.

“… suggest that you attend Scarfolk Technical College and check their storage shed. The injuries should correspond to their claw hammer, and traces of blood will be evident on the wooden hammer. It is my understanding that only four people have access to that room out of house, so I shall leave it to you to investigate which of the three suspects perpetrated the crime. Yes, three, the groundskeeper’s alibi is solid,” L shut of the phone and set it aside, dropping the file into a biin bad in the footwell. “Now, lets see which ones we can finish.”

Light handed over the file he was holding, debating briefly with L regarding the case but when it was clear that their theories matched with 100% confidence, L took to the phone again. As he made arrangements in perfect German for the perpetrator to be caught the very next day – in the act, no less – Light moved on to the next file. This pattern continued until every yellow file was discarded.

The red files with questions and uncertainties were discussed as the car crossed the country border and telephone signal was patchy for a while, sparking lively debates about the cases whilst waiting to be able to call the respective investigators.

Of the six remaining red files, Light selected four to discuss first. These cases, largely related to industrial espionage and fraud, involved no deaths but huge loss of finance totalling 22 million between them. Though solved and passed into their hands for judgement, these cases did not fulfil L’s rules for using the Note and neither were they of the sort that would interest Kira. They ran through them quickly, arranging similar captures for the seven involved in the four cases.

Light’s hands twitched to collect the next file to analyse. To his mortification, L noticed the movement.

“Light-Kira,” he scolded seriously, the first time he had used the address since the Note was last used. “It has only been five days.”

“They don’t know that,” Light gestured to the files but referred to the murderers they revealed. “They could strike again tomorrow and then another innocent person would be dead and we could have stopped it.”

“They could,” L agreed. “Will they?”

“No,” Light reluctantly confirmed. “If they follow the same pattern there would be at least another week before either do.”

“Well then,” L pulled out the phone again. “The police still have a chance to find evidence and arrest them.”

“They gave the cases to us.”

Light was raging, burning inside. These were his cases, his victims, these names were his. These deaths belonged to Kira.

“Shall I pull over?” Watari’s voice came from the front of the vehicle.

“Light-Kira?” L’s long fingers stilled before pressing green to call the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence regarding the first of the two cases. “You need to calm down. I believe the notebook has influence over the actions of those who use it. We need to be very careful how often you use the Note – the more you use it, the harder it will be to resist.”

“I’m not a drug addict, L,” Light huffed, although internally he wondered whether Ryuk felt so torn in two if he could not get his apples. “I just don’t see why people like this should be allowed to wander freely when every moment they live is dangerous for those around them.”

“Watari,” L prompted for the car to stop, considering Light unblinkingly. Light held his gaze, silently demanding. He shouldn’t need L’s permission for this – he was Kira, he was the God of the New World! However, L knew where the Notebook was hidden – not in the safe in the investigation tower which had been sitting open when they left for the plane, so it had to be with them. L would not have taken the risk of bringing the note if he hadn’t intended that it should be used.

The car pulled to the edge of the road. L’s window wound down to accept a briefcase Watari passed from the boot.

“I have a game for you,” L challenged. “This contains the Death Note. I would like you to hold on to it for me until we reach our destination.”

“You’re kidding?”

“If you can hold on to the case without trying to use the Note for the rest of the journey, you will win this game. Fail, and I will win,” L dared. “If you win and the Notebook remains untouched, you will be given the Notebook once per week to use with the cases we have just considered. Fail, and I will ensure that no matter how much of my time it requires, the suspects in these cases will be caught and imprisoned before that time comes.”

Light understood, but was not at all interested in playing L’s game. He was being treated like a dog with a treat – leave it, Kira, there’s a good boy.

Taking the case from L, Light flicked the catches open, surprised by the lack of a lock – was this just a trick as part of the test?

No, too obvious – but perhaps a trap then? He opened the case very carefully. Nothing shot out at him. He glanced to L, who merely watched him patiently. He reached in and removed the Note from the case.

“No further,” Watari commanded from outside the car.

“Try and stop me,” Light challenged, letting the Note fall open to the last page.

“Rem.”

Light froze at L’s single word. From the roof of the car a weight shifted.

“Don’t,” he spoke quickly, nursing his wrist just from the memory of the cuff’s last use. “Don’t use it. I might not agree with you, but I promised to work with you, didn’t I?”

“Light-Kira is struggling with a simple exercise in self restraint,” L pointed out. “It is unlike him.”

“Fuck off, L,” Light grumbled after considering his words, setting the book back in the case. He had almost physically felt something snap as he regained control of himself.

L broke into uninhibited laughter. “Light-Kira, you are funny when you are angry.”

Light flushed, unable to stop the instinctive response which must be anger.

The case did indeed sit untouched for the rest of the journey.

 

* * *

 

L predicted only a 40% probability that the threat of corporal punishment would continue to work on Kira for longer than a single month. That probability dropped to 7% at two months, and 2% at three if he were being generous.

He also predicted only a 1% probability that Light would be able to be restrained from using the Death Note within those three months, outside of the set rules, if he continued with his current level of addiction and if L tried to control and restrict its use.

These numbers pointed to disaster unless he was able to formulate a plan to change the bases of the equations.

L had considered carefully how best to alter Light’s behaviours enough to fix the potential situation before it would arise.

First, he had to convince Light to get the addiction under control. If he could be limited to one use of the Note each week without suffering in between, L was very confident that the number of cases that they would investigate would be enough to feed such a habit without risking missing a week and going off the rails that way.

Second, L understood that Light did not like following orders. He was used to following his own strict code, but not respecting the ones that applied to those who were not Kira. If L attempted to enforce the rules of the Note himself, it was only a matter of time before Light-Kira would break them. Therefore, L had to ensure that his rules made their way into Light’s own code of admittedly questionable morality.

If those conditions were met, there would be a 50% probability of no more than one unauthorised use of the note in the next 3 months. For now, that would have to be enough.

The first was a fairly simply task. To lock the Note away completely would limit its use, but only graduated exposure to its effects over time without use would allow him to maintain this when temptation was around. It was important to start early, so in the confined space of the car L had made his first attempt to allow Light to have the Note without using it.

The more difficult part would be somehow making Light want this control for himself.

Light was asked to hand over the briefcase to L as the car pulled onto a long dark driveway surrounded by woodland. A large Victorian property came into view when the trees finished.

“Would you prefer to meet Near and Mello tonight, or shall I ask them to let you be until morning?” Watari checked.

“Mello does not have the patience to wait,” L stated bluntly. “I would rather not have him invade our room to investigate while we are sleeping.”

Light recalled what L had told him about the impulsive – and possibly dangerous – candidate for succession when they spoke before, and thought it would be a poor idea indeed for the man to meet them when they did not have their wits about them. He wondered what L had told them about him – did they know he was Kira? If these two were training as L’s successors they would no doubt react strongly when they found out. If they already knew, Light was not keen to allow Mello to stew on the fact overnight at least.

Watari showed the two of them through to the comfortable sitting room. Light took in several battered old sofas, a large coffee table, a log fire burning in the alcove and a state of the art computer array along the back wall. Between them and the furniture, however, was what had to be the world’s largest construction made from balanced Tarot cards, a pair of grey eyes looking through the spaces.

“Near, Mello,” Watari greeted, the tower of cards blocking Light’s view of a second person entirely.

L, to Light’s horror, flicked out a bare foot and sent the tarot card construction tumbling to the ground. The falling cards hid the identity of the culprit.

The cards settled, revealing a furious but restrained… child. The boy could be no older than thirteen, the grey eyes corresponding to a face with pale skin, starkly white hair and black bags under his eyes similar to those of L. Indeed, there was something inherently L-like about him. A pair of white pyjamas finished the overall look.

“Near,” Light greeted, deducing that this must be the boy L had described as a little _too_ similar to him.

The boy looked between them, his intelligent eyes tracing them from head to toe and across the length of the chain.

“L,” he greeted, choosing to ignore Light. “It is an honour to finally meet you.”

“Mello,” L greeted, looking straight over the head of the crouched child to another.

For a moment Light was tempted to avert his eyes. The boy draped in the chair directly ahead of them in a pose more suited to an R rated movie than a fourteen-or-so year old. His shoulder length hair and thin build were feminine enough to give Light pause as to his gender at first. He was clothed entirely in close fitting leather, his arms and a strip of skin at his waist bare. A string of red beads hung around his neck, a cross dangling in the centre of his chest, and a chain connected to his hip.

“Hey,” Ryuk laughed behind them, amused by the strange similarity to his own favoured outfit. “That kid’s got style… Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Ryuk!” Light spun to the Shinigami, horrified. “You can’t ask questions like that, it’s rude!”

“Ah,” the boy drawled behind him. “So that would make you Kira.”

Light turned back to the child, remembering too late that, contrary to those around him in the last two months, Mellow had not touched the Note and would not have heard the Shinigami’s question.

“Kira,” Near’s tone was flat and unreadable, but as his eyes traced the chain between L and Light’s wrists a tiny smirk could be seen. “Watari did not suggest you would be joining us.”

The pale boy started to stack the tarot cards again.

“In the future do _try_ not to knock them down,” he directed his accusation at Light, who couldn’t help grinning.

“Lesson one,” he advised conspiratorially, “If you learn nothing else from this whole exercise, know this. L… is an arsehole.”

Mello let out a burst of tinkling laughter as Near looked betrayed at his mentor.

“Noted,” Mello shifted to sit upright, one leg crossing over the other as he leaned forward, considering Light seriously with the same penetrating gaze he had grown used to from L. Unlike his mentor, his face was expressive, easy to read, though Light interpreted that the boy was conscious to allow only what he wanted to be seen to be shown. At that moment only his curiosity was evident. After a few moments, seeming satisfied with his measure of the older boy, Mello sank back again. “Might I be permitted to greet your Shinigami friend?”

Before Light could explain why that would not be possible, L reached into his pocket and retrieved two scraps of Death Note paper – one for Ryuk and one for Rem. Whilst Ryuk had moved to investigate Mello more closely, Rem was amusing herself with small flicks of her wing from the back of the room, each one timed perfectly to inconspicuously send Near’s cards tumbling to the ground.

Mello, duly enlightened to the Shinigami in the room, grinned at Rem’s antics but focused on Ryuk.

“Nice outfit,” he complimented, preening a little rather than being intimidated by the hovering Shinigami that loomed over him. “Ryuk, was it?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Ryuk grinned widely, stretching his winds and flexing his talon-like hands. Mello did not hide his interest in cataloguing the features, but showed no sign of surprise or fear. It seemed Ryuk didn’t appreciate that, and moved in closer, deciding to ask what had so shocked Light before. “Are you a boy or a girl?”

“Which answer would please you most?” Mello purred, one hand lifting to stroke over the Shinigami’s wing feathers.

“Mello!” L finally scolded fiercely. The young boy sneered but dropped his hand.

This kid had serious issues, Light concluded, wondering but not sure he wanted to know what background he had to leave him so disinhibited and willing to use his – entirely age inappropriate – sensuality so boldly, and with a Shinigami no less.

“Ryuk,” Light was forced to scold when the Shinigami showed no sign of moving away. “Let him be.”

With a little flick of his wings that ruffled Mello’s hair, the Shinigami straightened up but perched on the arm. After a moment he made a bizarre mimic of Mello’s pose from before, one foot on the chair back, his flexible spine bending sideways entirely to lounge on one elbow on the back of the chair. The movement brought his face closer to Mello’s, and he continued to try to intimidate the boy with a grin baring razor sharp teeth within inches of his face. It didn’t seem to be working – Mello just grinned right back, leaning in to force the Shinigami to pull back a little.

Disturbed and resolving to have words with Ryuk about human ages and the law later, Light and L simultaneously decided to leave the Shinigami to it for now.

“Near,” L offered out the scraps of paper. The pale child finished another two Tarot card triangles before he touched them with a fingertip.

“You,” Near was expressionless but his voice promised a world of pain and suffering as he addressed Rem, “Stop knocking over my cards.”

“Don’t let her wind you up,” Light advised. “If she thinks she can, she’ll never stop.

“Rem,” L intervened. “Whilst I realise your journey here has bored you, knocking over Near’s card towers interrupts his thought processes and is a technique best used in moderation. The effect is magnified by the size of the tower when it is knocked down, so if you might wait until the structure is almost complete?”

“You’re right Kira,” Mello laughed, “L is an arsehole.”

Light glanced round at the other boy, regretting it immediately as he saw that Mello had lounged back into his previous pose. This brought him further from Ryuk, but if the effect of the overall image was not disturbing enough, Ryuk’s wing had ended up behind Mello’s back in a strange mimic of an embrace.

“Ryuk,” Light commanded imperiously. “Come with us to our room - now – and leave the _teenaged boy_ in peace.”

The Shinigami still appeared reluctant to move, but when Kira threatened him with withholding apples for the week he finally shifted.

It so happened that L had not expected the Shinigami to share a room with them now. Ryuk had his own room, decorated with copious black leather and chains artfully used in the furnishing. Mortified to have to have _the talk_ with a Shinigami, Light sat down and explained in detail about human aging and the age of consent.

“Hey, Light, kid,” Ryuk held up his hands in faux innocence. “That was Mello, not me. Besides, Shinigami aren’t even allowed to do _that_ with humans. Most of us aren’t even biologically compatible.”

Light, despite his usual thirst for knowledge, really didn’t want to know what that meant.

“Be that as it may, you’re going to have to be the responsible adult here,” Light instructed. “Mello is clearly not well-adjusted. If he is being inappropriate, it’s up to you to stop him.”

“Light,” L sighed. “It’s fine. Mello has used flirting before in cases. As inappropriate as it may be, he never lets it go too far and he is entirely capable of protecting himself. The worst thing Ryuk could do is actually make it difficult for Mello – so long as it doesn’t go too far.”

The next half hour was spent clearly defining to Ryuk a line for what would constitute “too far”.

* * *

 

“You still think he’d be suitable as the next L?” Light asked his roommate when they were getting ready for bed. “I can’t imagine you ever doing something like that.”

“Can’t you?” L mused, an evil gleam in his eyes as he made a point of looking slowly up at Light through his eyelashes and some strands of hair that had fallen forward over his face whilst he had been removing his clothing. L held Light’s gaze, catching a finger tip between his lips, the gesture combined with the look in his eyes causing Light’s cheeks to heat abruptly.

Light looked away, focusing his attention elsewhere. Unwilling to accept that L had been able to embarrass him so easily.

L waited until the vital moment – when Light had one foot off the ground to put on his pyjama bottoms – to abruptly pull on the chain and send Light toppling sideways onto the bed.

Light struggled as L caught his wrists, a bony knee pressing a warning into the small of his back to make him fall still.

“Kira,” L growled in Light’s ear, making him gasp. His breath tickled on Light’s neck, whispering over his pulse point, sending a shiver running through the younger man.

Light fought hard to remain perfectly still, to slow his telling heart rate and uneven distribution of blood throughout his body – seeming determined to divert to his cheeks, amongst other locations that did not bear thinking about.

“I wonder how far you would let me take this,” L murmured into his neck. “What would be too far with you, Light Yagami?”

“For fuck’s sake, L!” Light tried not to let his voice sound breathy, tried to sound annoyed, but knew his performance was not perfect and L would be able to pick up something. “Get off me.”

“No, I don’t think so,” L traced a foot over Light’s calf, which jolted up form the bed despite his efforts to appear unaffected. “Kira… would you stop me? Would you _kill_ me if I don’t stop?”

 _Fuck, no._ “Fuck off!”

“Hmm,” L released Light’s wrists with one hand, tracing fingers over one of this shoulder blades. “As you wish.”

Light let out a breath as his wrists were released, L moving away.

“Mello has a point,” L considered. “That did seem to be effective, don’t you think?”

“Arsehole,” Light grumbled, well aware that he could not hide his slight breathlessness and flushed skin. He stayed face down on the bed, willing away another unwanted tell.

L’s creepiest grin was back as the detective retrieved Light’s dropped pyjamas from the floor, turning away graciously when Light got dressed quickly.


	6. Kit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team meet the police's prime suspect

Light seemed to always fall asleep before L, keeping a regular schedule despite jet lag. Even after being so flustered, tonight was no exception. As L laid awake beside him he considered the new information he had gleaned tonight.

Truthfully he had rarely considered anything like using sexuality to best his criminal opponents (rarely meaning once, when he was starting out and had briefly considered that it might be most practical to take down a child prostitution ring that were trafficking children from Japan from within their own system). There as an inherent vulnerability and openness involved that L had never been comfortable with. The idea had been fleeting at most, that one time, as other options were available.

Mello had always wandered along a dangerously thin line of morality. Whilst Near used lies as his weapon, Mello was far fonder of truth and bold actions, lying only when he needed to. L tread a route somewhere in between.

He had not realised that Light-Kira might be swayed by such gestures before. To see the young man so flustered by Mello and Ryuk’s interaction had started his calculations whirling.

By this point, L was quite confident that Light’s lack of interest in his dates at school had been due to a difference in preferences. His easy response to L suggesting at least a 90% chance that Light was attracted to men rather than women, the chance increased when considering his reaction when he first saw Mello.

L was also fairly confident Light had never fully indulged in such things – 80%. Of course, neither had L (being a reclusive detective had always been more than satisfying enough).

L tried not to consider smaller details – how Light had responded to being held down, how quickly his words had flustered the man. They were inconsequential to the function of his newest discovery (and if he ignored them because otherwise he was unable to think clearly then only he would know).

L had been looking for something that might provide motivation for Light to align his moral code more closely to L’s, for him to accept the rules he applied to the Note and to allow L to one day release him from the chain that connected them.

This form of manipulation, from L’s observational experience, was simple and effective; however, it was also dangerous and prone to backfire very easily. L was aware that he was already rather academically obsessed with Kira. If he used this weakness to manipulate Light and fell for it himself, he would be very vulnerable.

L’s calculations continued long into the morning hours.

* * *

“The police have agreed to hand over the case to us in full,” Mello explained over a bowl of chocolate cereal the next morning. “They have a suspect already in custody. I negotiated with a rather weak-willed officer who agreed to let us take her into our care, but they stipulated that she should be monitored in person 24-7 until we catch the real culprit. That isn’t a problem – in fact, it could be helpful.”

“It isn’t something I do,” L frowned, perched on his chair with his knees to his chest as he picked at his Honey Smacks, liberally sprinkled with extra sugar. “With one exception, of course.”

Light shifted uncomfortably in his seat as L smiled at him, trying not to think about the night before and what L had been doing with his monitoring.

“We could learn vital information by bringing her here and observing her,” Light agreed with Mello. “She was at all the crime scenes, even in Japan. There must be a good chance that there is a connection to her in this somewhere.”

“Seventy percent,” L and Near chorused together.

“Wow,” Mello laid a hand over his forehead. “Now there’s two of them.”

Near grinned at L, his expression screaming that he thought he had scored a victory in some form.

“Who will monitor her?” he queried. “We’re all male – she probably won’t like it if we watch too closely. Unless Mello wants to dress up for a while?”

A knife was slammed an inch deep into the wood of the table between Near’s fingers. The fury in Mello’s eyes betrayed how tightly he had kept his restraint; Light wondered, if L wasn’t present, whether Near would be bleeding now.

“That was for a case,” Mello snarled.

“You didn’t seem so bothered about the idea last night,” Near teased.

“You’re just mad because a Shinigami likes me and the other one hates you!” Mello baited back, rubbing it in by holding an apple out to Ryuk, who forewent taking it with his hands to bite the apple in half with his teeth, tongue catching a few drips of apple juice from Mello’s wrist.

“Ryuk,” Light warned futilely.

“That’s really quite horrible,” Near judged. “You’re so perverted.”

“You wouldn’t have it any other way,” Mello winked at him.

“You know,” Light looked to L as the two boys continued to argue. “This is frighteningly alike to how I imagine it sounds inside your head.”

L did not justify that with an answer but he did step in.

“We will bring Ms Gray here,” L told them, interrupting. “From here we can let her continue as many of her normal activities as possible, see if we can bring a suspect out into the open.”

L proceeded to work on what information should and shouldn’t be given to Ms Gray when she arrived.

* * *

The faint sound of gravel shifting beneath car tires heralded the return of Watari and with him the police’s only suspect in the case. Within the house, the young investigators made themselves more presentable, setting aside their favoured foods and idle games to make a better first impression.

Light continued to leaf through reports that world wide investigators had sent based on the recommendations he and L had sent out yesterday, considering this a fair use of his time even in the eyes of someone new.

The woman who strode boldly into the room and assessed them with intelligent, suspicious eyes did not look like she had in the photo. Her hair was fluffy and unkempt, her clothing supplied by the prison, ill fitting and masculine. Still, Kimberley Gray’s presence exuded an air of confidence in a you-don’t-want-to-mess-with-me way.

Though she did take a second – shocked, no doubt – look at Mello, her attention was devoted to Light and L in a way that did not invite introductions.

Ms Gray strode confidently forward and slapped Light, open palmed, firmly across the face.

“Hello, L,” she addressed the man at the other end of the chain. “Thank you for breaking me out of prison. Mind finishing this quickly so I can go home?”

“The police did not keep any of the information confidential,” Watari explained from the doorway as he brought in a trolley with various foods for the team’s rather selective diets.

“It is good to meet you,” L’s social niceties left much to be desired, the words learned by rota and expressionless. “Please do refrain from attacking my team in the future.”

“Oh, I will,” Kimberley fixed Light in her cobra’s stare. “Shall I call you Kira, or do you have an actual name?”

“Just Kira, to you,” he smiled at her pleasantly, the type of disarmingly charming smile that would have the simple girls back home obsessing over him for weeks. “Am I to know you as Kimberley Gray?”

Light had become so quickly used to reading the subtle clues of L’s facial expressions that Kimberley’s fruitless attempts to restrain her own seemed childlike. The flash of shock, fear and horror had rather been as he intended when he spoke her full name. It seemed that the news media had more details of how he could kill than he had expected L would have released.

“Kit,” her confidence returned quickly. “It’s what my friends call me, but I suppose you can too. Don’t wear it out.”

“Well, _Kit,_ ” Light continued his disarming smile, “if you’re quite finished orchestrating your death wish, Watari can show you where you will be staying whilst you’re here.”

“Oh, so I’m meant to take orders from _you_?” Kit rolled her eyes. “I don’t take instructions from murderers.”

“You will do as Kira says,” L commanded. “He is part of the investigative team and unless otherwise stated his word is as valid as mine.”

“There is a shower in your room so you can spend some time cleaning up, and your clothing has been brought from your home so you can get changed as well before we need to ask you some questions,” Light advised.

“Go,” L ordered, taking his eyes from his computer screen for a moment to emphasise that he was serious.

It was enough, combined with the promise of comfort, to make the woman leave, holding up a middle finger to Light as she went.

“She’s a real spitfire, isn’t she?” Mello observed, rapidly opening a new bar of chocolate from Watari’s trolley and handing an apple to Ryuk who continued to remain within his arms reach.

L had switched the computer screen to show the cameras throughout the property, their settings adjusted to focus on and follow Kit around the building. Light glanced at the screen as it showed her start to run the shower, testing the temperature.

“You’re really going to watch that?” he frowned.

“Would you prefer to take first watch?” L offered out the computer.

“She’s getting in the shower, we can’t watch her there,” Light wondered if L was actually serious – but of course he was.

“I’ll do it,” Mello offered. L and Light both scowled at him.

“Not you,” L spoke decisively.

Near sighed. “I suppose it has to be me then?”

“No,” the Shinigami’s voice was decisive and left no room for argument. “Humans. You are all disgusting.”

“It is important for the case Rem,” L explained. “I’m not indulging Mello’s voyeuristic tendencies.”

“I will watch her,” Rem decided firmly, phasing through L and the wall to soon appear on the bathroom camera. L closed the computer screen.

“That was easier than expected,” Near observed. Light wondered where he had been hiding the little toy figures now set out before him, or when he had the time to paint them into miniatures of the housemates. His figure of Rem was moved closer to Kit; the toys must demonstrate more than physical proximity, however, as L’s and Lights were at opposite sides of the completely white jigsaw they all rested upon.

“But exactly as planned,” L confirmed.

“So you planned that she would slap me, did you?” Light tugged vindictively on L’s end of the chain, forcing him to lose grip on his sugar bead necklace and send the beads scattering across the floor.

L reeled back, his eyes wide with horror.

“How _dare_ you!” he snarled at Light, who raised a single superior eyebrow.

“They’re fun when they fight,” Ryuk commented to Mello, encouraging him to watch.

“You will pay for this,” L threatened Light, drawing back his chain bound hand and his legs shifting, coiling back as if to strike for him. He stilled, his eyes betraying his calculations, and he retrieved another sugar bead necklace, tension gone from his form.

“That wasn’t much fun,” Mello complained to the Shinigami; Ryuk’s jaw had dropped.

“That’s interesting,” the Shinigami mused, soothing Mello by stroking the boy’s hair. Mello leaned in to the innocent petting.

“Near,” L prompted. “Find out what you can from her and report back.”

“Yes L,” Near gathered his toys and puzzles, locking them away in a large Mello-proof safe in the next room before leaving to prepare for his task.

“Anything useful from the police?” L checked with Light, who had finished reading through the reports.

“Three more red and 100%,” Light handed over those files. L shifted through them briefly.

“Two of them can be apprehended by the police and will be sentenced appropriately with this degree of proof,” L sounded satisfied. “Mello, would you take a look at the files and communicate a plan of capture with the relevant agencies?”

Mello remained lounged in his chair, licking his chocolate bar, his eyes closed and his expression scandalously satisfied. Ryuk, however, collected the files from L and took them to him, an unspoken trade occurring for an apple. Only once the files had been brought to him did Mello pay any attention to his task.

“Bloody traitor Shinigami,” Light muttered, “Am I the only one who finds that disturbing?”

“It’s Mello,” L only shrugged, making it sound like the title explained everything. “Are you not interested in this, Kira?”

L held out the remaining red-marked file. Light, momentarily forgetting the purpose of the whole exercise given Ryuk’s odd behaviour, took the file casually.

“She will kill again,” Light confirmed, “but she has a very specific pattern of her murders, almost obsessively so. There won’t be another one for a while. We have a name and a face but there is no urgency.”

“As you wish,” L agreed, wondering what Light wanted in exchange for delaying his chance to use the Note.

There were other cases to focus on, other police forces to advise. It passed the time until the evening.

* * *

“So,” Light addressed Near over supper – his at least consisting of a balanced diet, “What did you find out?”

L, who had instead opted for too sweet and not very sour chicken rather than the usual fare Light had seen him consume (and answering some questions about L’s lack of nutritional deficits) had not enquired since Near finished questioning Kit hours before.

“There is a second high probability suspect,” Near reported, setting a Tarot card on the table – the Lovers. “Ms Gray has a long term boyfriend who was also at all four crime scenes, but won’t appear in the footage for three of them at the time of the fire.”

“Why not?”

“They argued at all of the locations but he left all of them moments before the fire started, except for the one in Japan. Kit was not there at that fire, but he had returned to the bar that night after leaving her at the hospital for treatment,” Near explained. “There is a small possibility that the fires were set in an attempt to kill Ms Gray or any witnesses to assaults.”

“How much did she tell you about him?”

“Very little,” Near laid down the Fool Tarot card, upside down from Light’s perspective. “I will, however, be doing further investigation. I will report when I am finished – _to L_.”

The scorn in his tone at the idea he should explain his findings to Kira made Light’s eyes flash red with barely controlled fury. However, before he had a chance to react, a hand caught his knee below the table. Long fingers squeezed – a warning? A reassurance? Whatever the purpose, the casual but startling gesture gave Light pause and forget Near’s slight.

Mello was not present, which meant that the hand certainly belonged to L, close beside as always, one had below the table and resting on his knee. After what had happened the night before he wondered if he should have been so surprised by the physical contact, but the truth was that Light had _never_ known L to make physical contact with anyone except when striking a blow with a foot, aside from that previous night. L didn’t allow others to touch him, never offering a hand to shake in greeting and when passing others in a narrow hallway he would press himself close to the wall if necessary to avoid brushing shoulders.

This deduction made Light highly suspicious of the hand on his knee and its multiple potential purposes. However, when he really thought about it, the socially inept detective had seemed rather comfortable with Light being close to him since the beginning. He had even handcuffed them together, forcing Light to inhabit the bubble of his personal space for every minute of every day.

Whatever further motive L had in this, it was not isolated to a hand on a knee to protect Near from his wrath.

The only important question was what response did he expect? Regardless of motive, Light was confident that agreeing with L would likely not be in his interests.

Then again, if L was so uncomfortable with physical contact, perhaps it would be more enjoyable to make him squirm, at least until Light had worked out the purpose of this new development.

As L tried to remove his hand, Light caught it beneath the table, giving it a similarly reassuring squeeze and resting it back on his knee. He did not look at L, but allowed his lips to curl in a subtle and perfectly secretive smile

“Suit yourself,” Light addressed Near, but the double meaning applied to L too.


	7. Wildlife Photography

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit demands an excursion with unexpected results

Light had woken that day with a bony elbow pressed into his shoulder, a leg sprawled across his own and shivering with the cold from the absence of bedding, which was wrapped in a roll around L’s upper body. The detective had, on a rare occasion, fallen asleep deeply enough to dream and Light knew this could be entirely unconscious, however, after L’s actions before he had refused to be so naïve. L was controlled in his behaviours, he would not be surprised if L could be so in his sleep as well.

Light had shifted, continuing to see attack as the best form of defence and wondering how far he would have to push things to make L uncomfortable. His movement had placed him tightly into L’s grasp but facing away – close enough that when L had woken he had a mouth tasting of Light’s shampoo.

L had huffed at Light, removing himself from his entangled position and at least making it appear that he had still been sleeping when Light woke. He was a good enough actor that it was impossible for Light to say for sure; either way, L had made no further attempts to push any idle touches or glances whilst the pair had performed their morning routines.

Light was glad of it at breakfast, when the influx of all members of their strange investigative team interrupted his once peaceful morning coffee.

Near had silently handed a memory stick to L, who had inserted it into his laptop and began scrolling through Near’s report with one hand whilst shovelling syrup soaked waffles into his mouth with the other. Mello and Ryuk, laughing and teasing one another playfully, had entered not long after. Mello was not dressed, wearing only boxer shorts and a robe, but no one seemed at all surprised and so Light did not comment.

Rem’s arrival gave a moment’s warning to the investigators of the arrival of Kit.

Dressed in a simple green translucent blouse and black tightly fitted trousers, her choker necklace with its emerald back in its rightful place around her neck, Kit looked like she stood taller and more elegantly than she had the day before. Her hair had been cut and styled perfectly, explaining where Mello had disappeared to during the evening, her make up applied artfully and masking what remained of the bags under her eyes from her prison stay.

“So am I on house arrest, or can I actually do something today?” Kit challenged immediately as she swept across the room to put together her breakfast.

“You are free to go about your daily activities,” L explained. “But you will wear a tracker, so that we know where to find you if you are in distress, and one of us will go with you.”

“Who?” Kit asked, glaring at Kira.

“Mello?” L suggested. The boy nodded. Kit studied him for a few seconds before nodding as well.

“Fine,” she shrugged. “You’d best dress up warm, kid, we’re off into the mountains.”

“To do what?” Mello queried, thinking of his outfits and what would be most suitable.

“I’m a photographer,” she reminded him. “I want to get some pictures of wildlife in the autumn forests, and if I can I want to get one of a stag – so we need to go somewhere really isolated, and you’d best be able to be quiet.”

Quiet, the team all knew, was hardly Mello’s strongest ability. However, Mello had grown up in Wammy’s house, and up to now had not had the opportunity to really experience such trivial and pointless things for himself. Unlike Near, he was able to appreciate beauty when he saw it, and would make the most of this opportunity.

“That I can do,” Mello promised, discarding his bowl of chocolate flavoured milk and leaving to get dressed, Ryuk staying with the others in the dining room.

“If your plans change, Mello will keep us informed,” L advised Kit when she came to sit at the table. “We will be tracking your phone, and the necklace you are wearing contains the additional tracker. If the necklace is removed, the tracker will also alert us.”

He did not mention that the necklace also contained a recording device which would send signal through both her and Mello’s phone back to the house so that the audio could be monitored with only a one second delay at all times. He didn’t mention that the cameras in her collection had all been fitted with small devices so that anything they picked up could also be seen by the investigators.

Just as Kit finished her food Mello returned, dressed in an outfit that would have looked perfectly out of place in any other circumstance. The tweed jacket and trousers, complete with elegant tartan scarf and white shirt, would have fit in perfectly at any aristocratic wild game shooting event. It was hard to imagine why Mello would ever have needed to own an outfit like this, but it would fit in perfectly out in the Scottish highlands.

It also provided a very good explanation for why Mello was carrying a Marlin 336C deer rifle and had a pocket full of ammunition for good measure.

“Will you really be needing that?” Kit frowned at the gun.

“Mello rarely goes anywhere unarmed,” Near explained without judgement or approval. “This way you can see the gun.”

“We aren’t going to hunt the deer,” she continued to look less than impressed.

“It isn’t for _deer_ ,” Mello assured. “I won’t spoil your photos, I promise.”

Kit bit her lip, looking like she was desperate to argue further. She looked around, curiously, to Rem, but received no support from the Shinigami. Her shoulders slumped a little, and she accepted the inevitable.

“Fine,” she snapped. “Let’s get going while the sun’s still up.”

* * *

 

Light had not forgotten that this day was seven days since he had last used the Death Note. L could not argue with him if he asked to use it today, three names and faces calling to him to be killed.

But he would not give L the satisfaction of asking; he would not hand him that control.

He spent the morning in pointless busy work whilst L had read through Near’s report. According to the youngest member of the team, Kit showed no sign of deception when she denied knowing anything about the fires. She didn’t believe that her boyfriend had anything to do with them either, but she was not so sure on that.

The boyfriend was described by Kit, but Near had gone on from this to investigate using the internet – mainly social media, on which the boyfriend seemed to be very active.

Jaecar Donovan – a name shortened to Jay on his Facebook profile, was a thirty six year old who had previously served on active duty in the Gulf war, a part of Operation Granby and the British 1st Armoured Division. He had been witness to a friendly fire incident in which an American aircraft had attacked two British vehicles, and had been diagnosed with PTSD and discharged from active service when it became evident that his rehabilitation was not going well. Since that time he had been well supported by the Army and had not needed to work since, not that Near had found any evidence that he had tried. He had disengaged from his psychiatry team when he was twenty seven, when he had been charged with assault of a man in a night club and had been given restrictions on his liberty.

That was not the only criminal conviction; three further assault charges and a DUI had led to a total of five years in prison, and it was after his most recent release that he appeared to have met Kit.

Despite their long relationship, Jay did not post much about it on his Facebook. Indeed, the photos of him and Kit were outnumbered by those of him with his arm around other women. They showed Jay, a man of around six feet tall, stocky in build and well-presented aside from startlingly poor dental hygiene, generally posing for the camera. There was a certain arrogance in his manner; an element of narcissism coming through in both pictures and posts.

Because of Kit’s report at the hospital in Japan, there could be absolutely no doubt that Jay was the one who had beaten her up so severely. Near had, it seemed, pressed her about that. Kit’s response had been to speak in Jay’s favour, suggesting that she had a tendency to trigger his PTSD and that Jay did not know what he was doing when he beat her, he was only doing it to protect himself.

Looking at the information that Near had found about Jay, Light concluded that he was lying.

None of the information available showed any evidence of ongoing PTSD symptoms. Jay was entirely comfortable in company, all of his photos showing this in clear detail. He lacked the hypervigilance of someone still suffering with the condition.

And, regardless, the assault that was carried out on Kit was not something that could be explained away by striking out by accident during flashback of PTSD. That sort of injury would not be work of an instant; that had been a prolonged, focused attack.

Light knew he could not use the Note on Jay. Not until the case was solved, at least. If he was the one who had set the fires and he died now they would not be able to prove their case in the same way.

It was only after lunch that L finally addressed Light about the Notebook, collecting a case file and asking Watari to fetch the Note. Light glanced at the cover of the file in his hands, idly wondering why L had chosen this one of the three that were outstanding. He wondered idly what L would do if he wrote Jay’s name in the Notebook. Whether he would even notice. L had returned to his own papers, allowing Light free rein to do as he chose with the Note.

Light chose to follow the rules this time, writing the one intended name into the note and detailing in great detail the incriminating manner in which the perpetrator would take his own life, which would prove his guilt to any who would later have any thought to question the judgement.

L returned his notes to Watari when the old man came back to collect the case file and Death Note from Kira.

“Would you like to play a game of chess?”

 

* * *

 

Mello had been treading carefully all day. The mountains were treacherous terrain at any time of year, but September had been wet and miserably cold, the ground not getting time to recover between rainfalls. Swampy ground was evident only when a foot stepped onto its surface, and so Mello had taken to watching Kit’s footsteps before taking his own, though he put his weight down only a part of a second later than her and so it seemed was still in step with her.

There were times, during the day, when Kit had been amicable and had initiated conversation – not about herself, or the case, or even about Mello. As when he had repaired the damage a prison stay had done to her hair the night before, Kit preferred idle chat about art and literature to anything more personal. Mello was well informed academically on these matters, but Kit had lived it, seen it and knew it in a way that he had never had the opportunity to experience. He would not trade his opportunities or his life with Wammy’s for anything, but he wished he could have had more chance to stray beyond its walls before now.

At other times they were silent, stepping carefully in wooded areas and trying not to shift the leaves on the ground or snap any twigs. The wildlife would not allow them to come near if they heard the approach, if it caught their scent too soon.

Kit had several photos – of red squirrels, a bold Scottish wild cat, and a flighty stoat. She had captured a small group of deer in the distance, but had not gone closer, explaining that the symbolic deer she wanted to photograph was a red deer and these were a smaller kind. Dusk was approaching, and she had not needed to do much to convince Mello to stay in the woodland and see if they could manage to spot an owl as it emerged for the night’s hunting.

As night came in, Mello had begun to hesitate in his steps. He was not one to doubt his senses, and every once in a while, he was sure he could hear something rustling nearby.

Of course, this was to be expected, there were creatures in the woodland that would flee once they noticed humans present. However, these noises were behind them; they were nearly always at about the same distance away, and they would stop when he stopped. Kit scolded him for paranoia, but Mello knew better than to doubt.

The gun’s safety was taken off, the trigger warmed by the finger that had hovered on it for the last half hour.

Kit had stopped in a clearing, having spotted an osprey in a tree up ahead. The whirr of her camera as she set its focus was almost enough to hide the crunch of a twig behind them.

Mello spun, gun raised, and looked through its sights in the direction of the noise, his breath held silently.

A flash of movement, low to the ground. Mello fired instantly, his aim perfect, and a yelp sounded.

“Mello!” Kit shrieked, rounding on him. “You said you wouldn’t!”

She rushed into the trees, heedless of the danger. Mello followed her in a rush, the gun reloaded and held at the ready.

Spots of blood covered the leaves on the ground where Mello was sure his bullet had struck home. The creature was gone.

“I’ll take a sample,” Mello suggested, carefully selecting one of the leaves with the most blood and drawing some up in a dropper pipette that he pulled from a coat pocket. “Whatever it was, it was following us for the last hour at least.”

“You’re insane,” Kit stated bluntly, her hand raised to slap him but quickly caught in his grasp.

“Best not,” he spoke softly, but allowed darkness and murder to seep into his tone. “We’re not all as calm and peace loving as Kira, after all.”

Kit’s eyes widened, her entire body frozen, breathing faster and adrenaline constricting her pupils.

Mello released her wrist, getting to his feet and offering her a hand to help her get up from her knees. He smiled widely, inviting.

“Did you get your photo of the osprey?” he asked enthusiastically.

“… definitely insane,” Kit whispered to herself, hesitantly taking Mello’s hand.


	8. Stalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The investigation continues

****Mello’s report was not unexpected, the shot heard through the audio feed running in the background on the computer array having startled L enough that the chess board had ended up upside down on the floor, the game forgotten. The blood Mello had collected would be sent to the Edinburgh forensic lab for identification, the trail having stopped at a stream that ran through the forest.

“Until otherwise proven,” L had addressed the gathered team members and Shinigami that night, “we must assume that Kit is being followed. I trust Mello’s judgement in this. We must also understand that there is a chance, even if she was followed today, that this is unrelated to the case. However, if this is related and Kit is followed by someone or something that is connected, we must presume that whatever follows her is able to track her down, no matter where she goes.”

“Kit only got out of the police cells yesterday, and she has contacted no one and accessed none of her social media. There was no way anyone could have known where she was by the usual means – and I have checked her belongings for tracking devices. Only our own are present. There should have been no way for anyone to find her in that forest today,” L explained. “I also checked, and she does not frequent that particular forest for her photography. Indeed, she has only been there once before, which means no one could reasonably presume her presence.”

“We must consider that the entity following Kit is a likely suspect in the case,” L finished. “In order to follow this line of enquiry, we should continue as we are – Kit should leave the house tomorrow, with the usual tracking devices and Mello – if you don’t mind going again? Preferably, this will be an unpopulated area again but where visibility is further; no trees for whomever or whatever is following to hide behind. If the same thing happens, we know that whatever is following Kit is not wounded badly by Mello’s shot, is focused on Kit alone, and can track her down without any electronic aid.”

“You’re saying if it happens again, it can’t be human,” Light reflected back, deciding to remove the puzzled look from Kit’s expression.

“Yes,” L nodded. “That is of course the point.”

“I thought you were detectives?” Kit snorted. “You make it sound like some sort of ghost wants to get me.”

“A malicious ghost is called a poltergeist,” Near corrected.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Kit laughed. “L and Kira, Ghost Busters!”

“We are not,” L scowled, testing the words. “Ghost Busters.”

“You’re bloody insane is what you are,” Kit shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t believe this. You realise I don’t get to go back to my life until you solve this, right? I don’t have time for you to go chasing goblins and ghouls when all you actually need to do is find some hooligan who is setting bars on fire.”

“We have good evidence to suggest that there are other beings out there beyond the reach of what we would consider the natural world,” Light explained.

“I don’t give a shit how you kill people, _Kira_ ,” Kit snapped. “If you expect the public to believe that story about a magic notebook – honestly, if that’s true, I’ll eat my hat.”

“Do you own an edible hat?” Ryuk asked curiously, but Kit could not hear him so Mello repeated the question.

“Insane,” she grumbled. “That’s what you lot are.”

“Let her see Ryuk,” Near suggested, sounding bored with this argument. “Rem might be best staying unseen for now.”

“Whatever the fuck a Ryuk is, I’m not bloody interested,” Kit got out of her chair, her hands curled into fists. “Whenever the lot of you get your act together and back down to this planet, then I’ll speak to you. Feel free to carry on… whatever the hell it is you’re doing here. I’ll be going to Loch Avon tomorrow. Not a tree in sight, maybe a few hikers but that’s it. Make your plans around that.”

With that, Kit stormed out of the room. L looked to Rem.

“Shall I switch on the cameras?” he asked. The Shinigami looked hesitant.

“…No,” she finally answered slowly. “No, I will go watch.”

“Thank you, Rem,” L grinned. “I’ll ask Watari to bring you some marmalade to try in the morning. It’s made with oranges.”

 

* * *

 

“Do you really think there might be something not human involved?” Light asked as L and he were changing for bed.

“There is a 30% chance,” L suggested.

“That’s quite high,” Light frowned.

“Mello is an exceptional shot,” L explained. “If he says he shot it, he did. If he says the shot was clean, it was. Whatever was following her should be dead.”

“You said whatever, that time?”

“Yes,” L agreed. “Mello was sure it was an animal. It will be interesting to hear what the lab has to say by morning.”

“Do you intend to sleep tonight?” Light asked casually, bringing both their thoughts suddenly back to how they woke that day, Light entangled in L’s grasp.

“Perhaps,” L studied Light’s face, hoping for a clue – a sign as to whether his plan was helping or hindering. “Did it make you uncomfortable, earlier?”

“Not really,” Light shrugged, his response deliberate, calculated. “I don’t think either of us are quite used to this yet. I’ve never shared a bed with someone before. But no, I wasn’t actually uncomfortable, just… surprised, I guess. It was unexpected.”

“For me, too,” L sounded genuine.

“Were you uncomfortable?” Light asked. “You moved away pretty quickly.”

“Not really,” L sighed. “I suppose I was just surprised, too. And a bit worried that you would think I was taking advantage, I guess. You are seven years younger than me, and my prisoner.”

“Hardly a prisoner,” Light suggested. “Aside from the chain, I haven’t felt much like a prisoner since we got here, you know. It’s been… pleasant, working on the case, solving others in the background. And the company – no, not you, you’re still an arsehole – I mean Near and Mello.”

“Would it be too bold, then,” L began warily. “To suggest that it may be less surprising to wake like that if we start the night that way too?”

Light was silent for a while, mulling over what answer would give him most advantage. He wondered if he should reconsider his theory that L avoided physical contact because he found it unpleasant.

“No,” he answered, voice barely a whisper. “No, it wouldn’t be too bold.”

It was awkward; Light was slightly shorter than L, if the detective stood straight rather than with his spine slouched as was his way, but the older man was also rake thin, making Light feel much larger than him. It took a while to find a position that was comfortable, laid together like this, no longer at either edge of the bed but both sharing the middle.

“What are your impressions?” L asked before they slept. “Of Mello, and Near.”

“They are children,” Light answered honestly. “They both want to succeed, want to follow in your footsteps. But you are right, they are very different people. I think… Near wants to be you, but greater. He tries to emulate you in how he does things. However… he has no social knowledge, no acknowledgement of others that I’ve seen. He does things because he wants to do them, or because he has a vested interest in them. I’m not sure how that will play out, in the end. He’s still developing – he has time to learn, still, to see the world and other people and adapt. As to Mello… he’s already his own person, and shamelessly so. But… I don’t know what happened, to make him like he is. He’s unsettled, L, there’s something not right there, something broken beneath the surface.”

“If you had to choose,” L asked after a moment to take in the answer. “If something happened to me tomorrow, and one of the boys had to take on my name, who would you choose?”

Light frowned, considering the question seriously.

“They would balance each other, I think,” he suggested in the end. “If they work together, the two of them may even be able to surpass you.”

“But if they don’t? If they want to go it alone?”

“Then they have a lot to learn,” Light confirmed. He shifted slightly, moving L’s hand from his ticklish waist to rest on his chest instead, his eyes closing in the darkness. “Goodnight, L.”

 

* * *

 

 

Kit’s irritation was only broken the next morning by the sight of Mello, his hair spiked and distinctly masculine for one, dressed from head to toe in an outfit that was purchased solely from a famous Scottish brand. In awe, she admired the extraordinarily expensive items aloud before she could stop herself, reeling in surprise when Mello suggested that he had a feminine outfit by the same country clothing designer that she could wear to Loch Avon that day if she would like.

Flustered, but appreciative, the two left to allow her to change. Light breathed a sigh of relief.

Kit, once angry, was a sight to behold. Her every moment was exaggerated, cups slamming down onto the countertop as she made coffee, finished plate of toast tossed into the sink hard enough to break. Her bark was worse than her bite, every comment containing a profanity or an insult.

Near was entirely unaffected as usual – at least he had been until, wanting a rise out of him, Kit had slipped his half finished white jigsaw across the room, the pieces scattering everywhere.

Near had been silent for a count of ten before lifting his large eyes to survey her.

“I suggest,” he spoke in his usual emotionless tone, “that you _get down on your knees_ and pick that up.”

“Near!” Light was startled by the boy’s reaction. Despite, or perhaps due to, his emotionless manner, danger radiated from the boy at that moment.

“Near,” L also warned. His weight had shifted in his crouch, moved onto the balls of his feet, prepared to act quickly if needed.

Without Kit’s knowledge, Rem had moved closer to Near’s side, all but moving between them. Her proximity surprised the boys but was hardly their greatest problem at that time.

It was at that moment that Mello and Ryuk entered and provided the distraction.

Near remained perfectly still when Kit and Mello left, Rem moving to the doorway like a guard to stop anyone following.

“Near,” L tried again, attracting the pale teenager’s attention. Communication passed silently between them for several minutes before the tension finally left Near’s body.

“Sorry,” the child supplied, matter of fact as usual. He hopped down from his chair and began to gather up the puzzle pieces.

“Once you have done that,” L suggested, “I have some cases for you to look at.”

Near nodded, not stopping in his task.

Rem, finally moving out of the doorway, accepted a jar of marmalade from L, tasting it tentatively. Her eyes widened.

“Is there more of this?” she asked.

“Plenty,” L smiled.

“Good,” Rem downed the jar full. “Where?”

Light smiled. It seemed the Shinigami had a weak spot after all.

“In a box in the pantry,” L directed. “The one with a picture of Paddington Bear.”

 

* * *

 

“It’s human,” L announced after handing up the phone, “the blood Mello collected.”

“Then he was mistaken when he said it was an animal, and shot someone in the leg,” Near grinned at the thought that Mello had slipped up.

“No,” L shook his head. “Mello saw an animal, and I believe him more than I doubt that. What he saw bled human blood, but looked like an animal.”

“Is that possible?” Light looked to Ryuk and Rem. “Do creatures like that exist?”

“Most things exist in some place or another,” Ryuk waved a dismissive hand. “There are plenty of worlds out there with different things in them.”

“Do they exist in this world?” Light expanded, filing the other important information in that statement away for later. It was strange to get a straight answer from the Shinigami for a change.

Ryuk had always been clear he didn’t take sides during the fight between L and Kira. Was it possible, now that they were working together, that the Shinigami had chosen a side? If he had, was it their side as a whole, or just the side that Mello had chosen too.

“Yeah, I think,” Ryuk tossed an apple from hand to hand – he had spent the last hour trying to learn to juggle. His long arms made it a difficult task. “I’m not sure. It wasn’t all that important. Humans can die, non-humans can’t – not with a Notebook, anyway. Some of the things that can be both are human enough, and have much longer life spans than their fully human counterparts. Find a good one and you’re usually set for a few centuries at least.”

“So would you be able to tell one of them if you saw them?” L asked curiously.

“Nah,” Ryuk shrugged. “Not the human-enough ones. Not unless they would live a really long time. It’s different if they’re human enough but in another form – a Shinigami would still see their name and life span. The immortal ones – ones the Notes won’t work on – they would be obvious, we wouldn’t be able to see their name or life span.”

“Thank you, Ryuk,” Light grinned. “You’re a big help.”

Ryuk growled a warning not to push his luck.

“Well,” Light looked to L, “Where does that leave us?”

“At 72%,” L quoted the figure readily, “that whatever is following Kit is some sort of shape shifter.”

“And for the fires?”

“That depends on what Kit’s stalker turns out to be.”

 

* * *

 

The huge, long loch stretched far into the distance from their quiet spot halfway up the feature Kit referred to as a hill but Mello was pretty sure was a mountain. In a tree almost at eye level was a peregrine falcon, preening its feathers after a flight. Kit had been snapping photos for the last three quarters of an hour, but the cloud was beginning to darken and Mello had been trying to convince her to head down and away from the inclement weather.

“Toughen up,” Kit told him. “This is Scotland, you get used to the rain.”

Mello clutched his coat tightly around him, regretting having not brought his umbrella with him. The sky had been beautifully clear when they set off but, as Kit informed him, the Scottish weather was volatile and prone to change.

When L had suggested an isolated and open location Mello was not sure he had wanted somewhere quite so bare. The tree in front of them was the only foliage above ankle height as far as the eye could see. There would be nowhere for a potential tail to hide and therefore no sighting would occur today, Mello was sure.

It was only later as they were moving down the hill that Mello realised he was wrong, in a way.

There was movement behind them; audible rustling that he had to strain to pick up, flickers of _something_ out of the corner of his eye, but whenever he stopped or turned his head to try to catch a glance there was nothing to see and nowhere to hide.

“You’re mad,” Kit told him repeatedly and in various ways, frustrated to have to keep stopping.

Halfway down the hill Mello thought that he had pinpointed the exact location of the thing he could not see. Kit’s assurances of his insanity had started to grate on his patience, and he snapped.

He spun, a pistol creating an extension of his arm, and shot.

A yelp, faint but present, sounded as the grass began to ruffle in a straight line up the hill and away from them.

“Fuck…” Kit breathed.

“Yeah,” Mello agreed. “Fuck.”

He phoned L then, telling him what they had seen – or not seen, as it were. L relayed what Ryuk had told them.

“Did you hit it?” L asked.

“Yeah,” Mello was sure. “Not a kill shot this time – maybe just glanced it.”

“See if you can find anything left, a footprint or a hair, another blood sample at least,” L requested. “It seems I have some research to do.”

“As you wish,” Mello hung up the phone, moving to collect any evidence.

Kit sat on the hill below, her head in her shaking hands.

“Are you alright?” Mello asked gently.

“I’m not sure,” Kit breathed. “I just found out ghosts must be real and one of them is after me for some reason.”

“It’s not a ghost,” Mello wasn’t sure why he said that, why that would help. “It bleeds, and when it does it bleeds human blood. Whatever it is, it has a human form.”

Kit snorted.

“Bet it’s a man,” she grumbled. “Men are horrible creatures.”

“Hey,” Mello scolded, picking his moment perfectly to gawp at her in an exaggerated fashion, placing a hand over his heart and looking hurt. Kit broke into hysterical giggles.

“Mello, honey,” she teased between laughs. “You really don’t count.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he held out a had to her to help her up. Today she took it. “Come on, let’s get you home before that thing comes back.”

 

* * *

 

Kit was silent that evening, still reeling from her experiences during the day. Mello and Ryuk filled the uncomfortable silence but of course she could neither see nor hear the Shinigami, and Light wondered if the others responding to him would make her even more wary.

“Ryuk is a Shinigami,” he explained in an attempt to reassure her. “He is part of the reason why I have the power to do… what I do. He’s not actually all that scary, except at first glance I guess. If you touch the paper L has you’ll be able to see him, too.”

“Maybe tomorrow,” Kit flinched a little when L offered it out. “I’ve had enough supernatural activity for one day.”

“Okay,” Light nodded, smiling reassuringly. “Whenever you feel ready.”

Near had inserted his own opinion then, commenting to Mello rudely that Kit was foolish; that if the idea of these things bothered her so much she should address it head on and touch the Notebook. This deteriorated rapidly, with Mello launching at him from his chair, slamming him to the ground and yelling in his face.

Kit looked horrified, but L and Light glanced at one another and silently agreed to not step in. The boys had survived years at Wammy’s house together, so it seemed unlikely that Mello would kill Near. Besides, Near’s emotionless approach had blinded him to the situation and if no one intervened then he would never learn.

“I want to try to help with the investigation,” Kit offered once the two boys took their argument elsewhere at Rem’s insistence. “Is there anything I can do? I need to keep busy.”

“If you don’t mind, there is something,” L requested. “Could you download your photos from the last two days? I want to see if you caught any clues without realising.”

“Of course,” Kit agreed. “I wanted to look through them anyway, see if there was anything worth advertising for sale. I presume I’m not allowed to sell them now whilst the investigation is still ongoing?”

“I don’t see why not, so long as you can do it from a distance. You will go back to your normal life soon, and though you will be compensated for the time you spend here, I wouldn’t want to damage your business.”

Kit spent the next hour or so downloading and going through her photos. Mello and Near returned, both of them looking a little ruffled but no worse for the experience. They took turns going though the photos with Kit, each investigator taking a turn to eat their evening meal before L visited that Kit stop and eat too.

It was while Kit was eating that Mello called them over.

“This is the clearing where I saw it first,” he explained. “I thought it was probably behind us the entire time, but about ten minutes in…”

He flicked through a sequence of photos. Just to the left of centre a bush shifted and moved in the sequential stills, and then he found the photo they were searching for.

A pair of piercing yellow eyes reflected the light from being Kit, focused sharply in their direction. There was nothing else visible, no other clue as to what the creature was, just the eyes, their attention fixed.

The next photo, one second later, the eyes were gone.

“This is definitely what you saw?” L confirmed with Mello.

“I think so,” Mello nodded. At L’s small frown, he measured, “I’m about 95% sure that this was that creature, but I never got a clear look.”

“Okay,” L nodded. “It’s something to go by. Kit, you’ve already helped this investigation tremendously. These photos are exquisite. I don’t suppose you’ve ever considered moving in to crime scene photography?”

“I don’t have the stomach for it,” the woman explained.

“Nonsense,” L frowned at her. “You have dealt with the situation admirably well so far. Think about it. When this is through I would be happy to give you a reference.”

“A reference from L would really open up doors in the investigative world,” Mello assured her. “Even if you don’t want to do crime scenes, take the reference – it could be invaluable.”

“Thanks,” Kit smiled at the team. “I think I’m ready now. To be introduced to the Shinigami, I mean.”

“It’s late,” Light intervened. “You need to sleep. First thing tomorrow, I promise."

“Okay,” Kit agreed.


	9. Bait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One thing we learned from Death Note is that Mello will do anything for a case - L doesn't mind using this in his plans.

Light observed as L searched the internet that night in their bed, looking through increasingly fanciful legends and myths of shape shifting creatures. They had enough clues to narrow it down significantly, if the creature was something that appeared in these tales. It was able to be invisible, able to be both human and an animal and perhaps able to start fires. Its eyes had also been about knee height – though it could be crouching – and Mello had described a yelp, so it had to be an animal that made that sort of noise.

“What’s your next move?” he asked the detective when the silent observation became too much.

“We need to draw out Kit’s stalker,” L glanced to Light. “The best way to do so, if this takes the same pattern of a regular stalker, would be to make the creature jealous. We have to make it think that she is choosing something else over it.”

“You think it burned down the bars because it was jealous?” Light frowned; something about that just didn’t sit right with him.

“There is a possibility,” L shrugged. “Until we know what kind of creature it is, it is difficult to understand its motivations.”

“You’re struggling,” Light realised. “You don’t know how its mind works because it isn’t human.”

“Indeed,” L admitted uncomfortably. “This creature could have a completely different mind-set and moral code to any human and I wouldn’t be able to know until I can find out what it is.”

“It’s human enough,” Light reminded. “It can take human form, it bleeds like a man and it is obsessing over a human woman. All those things point towards similar needs and wants at least.”

L looked at him sideways for a long moment.

“Wants, Light?”

The younger man’s cheeks flushed.

L sighed heavily, turning back to his computer.

“I have work to do,” L scolded him for the interruption, “and you need your sleep. We can discuss any needs and wants in the morning.”

Light, suitably dismissed and, should anyone have asked, not at all embarrassed, turned away and tried to fall asleep.

As the morning approached he refused to admit that his sleepless form actually missed L’s embrace.

 

* * *

 

 

“Now, remember, they won’t hurt you,” Mello soothed, having taken on the role of introducing Kit to the Shinigami. L and Light were both glad, confident that Ryuk would behave himself if his friend – as their relationship could best be termed at this point – were the one in charge. “They can look scary at first…”

“Oh, don’t patronise me, I’m not a child,” Kit grumbled, plenty of her fire having returned with a good night’s sleep.

“This one first,” Mello suggested, holding out the small piece of Light’s Note. “This is Ryuk.”

Kit had touched the paper and was now able to see the Shinigami, who had promised Mello he would not try to intimidate her in exchange for Mello’s apple scented air freshener. He attempted a reassuring smile, his teeth bared to show their razor thin, needle sharp nature.

“Hi,” Kit tried, holding her nerve.

“Ryuk, what did we talk about?” Mello prompted. The Shinigami shifted, looking uncomfortable, but moved forward with Mello’s reassurance.

“It is an honour, Milady,” Ryuk purred, taking Kit’s hand from her side and bringing his head down to it in a mimic of a kiss. “You truly are the loveliest creature in all the worlds.”

Light and L looked at each other to roll their eyes.

“Mello,” they chorused, laughing.

“There, I did it, you owe me a jar of apple sauce as well!” Ryuk rounded on Mello, pointing a long-fingered hand at his face. Mello smirked, revealing said jar from a pocket of his trousers usually reserved for a weapon.

“Thanks,” Mello dismissed him with a shove as the Shinigami upended the jar over his mouth.

“Okay,” Kit giggled. “I suppose he’s not so bad. I’m ready for the other one.”

“Rem is a bit different,” Mello warned. “She still won’t hurt you, though.”

Kit took the slip of paper, looking up at the second Shinigami with interest rather than fear.

“Hi,” she greeted again. Rem did not initially respond. “I guess you’re the silent type, huh?”

“I do not waste my time with humans,” Rem sniffed haughtily.

“Suit yourself, I guess,” Kit shrugged, unaffected. Rem moved away, phasing through the wall and out of the room.

“Are you okay?” Mello checked.

“I… will be,” Kit resolved. “It’s just a lot to take in, give me some time to get used to it.”

“Are you up for another trip out?”

“Yeah,” Kit shrugged. “If it helps the case.”

“Good,” L stepped in, “Because I have a suggestion.”

Near, who had been quietly creating a cathedral from Tarot cards in balance, looking up.

“So have I,” he commented.

L hesitated for a moment before gesturing for the youngest detective to continue, returning to his strawberry and white chocolate pancakes.

“We should bring in Jaecar,” Near recommended. “All of the attacks occurred when he was around, so it is likely that he is another link – perhaps a trigger?”

“I agree that it is likely,” L began but was interrupted.

“Jay?” Kit laughed. “Jay wouldn’t have the intelligence to pull off even one of those fires and not to be caught straight away. Besides, he has PTSD and the fires have been triggering him. Why would he do that to himself?”

“Does he?” L questioned.

“Does he what?” Kit frowned.

“Does he have PTSD?”

“Yes,” Kit nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t find out in your research. Then again, you’ve been too busy making eyes at Kira to pay attention half the time. His PTSD is why he was discharged from the army…”

“Are you _blushing_?” Mello accused, pointing at L. “Kira, L’s blushing! When did you snog?”

“We haven’t…” L began even as Light took Mello’s tack of attack as best from of defence.

“Do you _really_ want to know what L and I do when we’re all alone in that big bed together?” he questioned suggestively, lips curling into a satisfied grin.

“I bloody knew it!” Mello accused. “I told you, Near, pay up.”

Near looked at the two men for a moment.

“Nope,” he refused. “They haven’t had sex yet – it doesn’t count.”

“Hey,” Mello grumbled. “You can’t prove that!”

“Can we get back on topic?” L demanded, not helped when mid-sentence Light laid a hand on his thigh, winking at him.

“Kit,” L began when the laughter finally stopped. “I’m sorry, but in my investigation, I have found no evidence that Jay still suffers from PTSD. He does seem to use his past, and very genuine, struggle with the condition as an ongoing excuse when it is in his favour. That said, I do think it unlikely that he set the fires – right now it seems most likely that your animal stalker is the one doing that.”

“Right,” Kit agreed. “So, we don’t need to get him involved, do we?”

“Not yet,” L agreed. “I think it would be best if we keep him out of this for now. First, I would like to set up a situation in which the creature has to place itself in a public environment. If it takes human form to do so rather than being invisible we may just be able to pick it out, and if it doesn’t then you can try to provoke it.”

“How would I do that?”

“Mello will be going with you, but not as himself,” L explained. “Whilst he makes for a very unconvincing adult male, his female outfits and make up look far older than his chronological age. Is there anything you have done, other than being in a relationship with Jay, that would have convinced this creature that you are entirely heterosexual?”

“I…” Kit thought about the question. “I don’t think so. If I have, it hasn’t been correct anyway.”

“Ah,” L smiled. “That actually makes things easier. Mello may have to make it convincing, you see, nothing over the top for a teenager but there may need to be kisses at least and it will need to fool your stalker.”

Kit frowned at Mello.

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that,” Kit worried. “He’s a kid.”

“He’s an investigator,” L corrected. “Besides, he’s done far worse.”

“He’s actually right,” Near agreed, sticking his tongue out childishly at Mello when the older boy narrowed his eyes at him.

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Kit argued.

“Yeah, kissing was meant to be forbidden in the rules?” Ryuk grumbled. L and Light looked askance.

“Yeah, Ryuk darling,” Mello purred, reaching out to stroke the arm of the Shinigami who had become a semi-permanent fixture draped over any chair Mello sat in. “You know I love you and all, but those teeth…”

Ryuk’s expression was hurt. “But Mello, my little Golden Delicious, if you love me why won’t you kiss me? It’s because I’m hideous, isn’t it? You think I’m ugly!”

The Shinigami had thrown himself off the back of the chair in an apparent fit of temper, and was now sprawled on the floor pounding his fists on the ground like a toddler.

“Do you think we’ll ever get any work done with those two around?” Light asked L as Mello tried to reassure Ryuk that…

“Yes, Ryuk, you are really very, very ugly,” Mello crooned, stroking the Shinigami’s wings. “Absolutely horrifying, really, I mean it.”

“Mello,” Light and L both rolled their eyes together, snorting as Ryuk actually sat up and hugged the teen, thanking him profusely.

“Okay, I get it,” Kit chuckled, trying to fight back hysterical laughter. “Worse. Okay.”

“If it helps,” L advised her, “Ryuk says Shinigami aren’t actually biologically concordant.”

“T.M.I,” Kit’s eyes widened and she winced as her brain unwillingly tried to rationalise that.

“We’ve gone off topic again,” Light tried to bring them back, though Ryuk and Mello’s continued, albeit innocent, petting of one another where they sat curled together on the floor was rather distracting, especially as Mello had become surrounded between Ryuk’s wings.

“We need to be very careful in case a fire does start,” L explained. “We will have to choose a coffee bar if we intend to do this during the day – one with a very good sprinkler system and fire escapes so that the fire can be put out and everyone can get out safely. Those features are generally far between in the countryside, so we will travel to Edinburgh before lunch today. Watari has found a bar that meets our requirements and has offered them a fair sum to take the risk. We will wait outside in a van just in case, and we will have audio and visual of the shop which Watari is installing now. Are you comfortable with this?”

“Yeah,” Kit resolved. “Yeah, I can do it. It’s basically just getting coffee and a few pecks on the cheeks and lips, nothing worse, right?”

“Right,” L nodded.

“And a potentially psychotic or psychopathic shape shifting monster who might try to burn me alive?”

“Precisely,” L confirmed.

“Wonderful.”

“Yes,” L nodded. “Although, I do not believe your characterisation of the creature to be correct.”

“Being psychopathic would certainly not fit the profile of the human aspect of the stalker,” Light explained. Near and Mello looked to Light and L and glanced at each other, a knowing expression crossing their faces as Kira finished L’s explanation seamlessly. “He may well be obsessive, or have another personality disorder, but he seems to have some form of intense emotional connection to you which would not be in keeping with psychopathy.”

“He could be psychotic,” L continued, “but we have already learned that he is careful, and if he were psychotic there would be a higher chance of disinhibition – a higher chance he would have just walked up and introduced himself to you and if not that he would be making more mistakes.”

“Mello shot him twice,” Kit pointed out.

“Because Mello is a talented marksman and has observational skills in the field that are second to none,” L explained. Near accidentally knocked over his Tarot card tower as his hands jerked. “With any other person I doubt he would have been noticed on either occasion. You are a photographer and you still didn’t notice him.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Kit asked.

“Then we re-think,” L shrugged. “Either way it tells us a lot about the creature. Perhaps then we go with Near’s plan.”

* * *

L had selected a coffee shop close to Pilrig Park in Edinburgh, suggesting that the open space near the area would be advantageous should the creature need to move through any grassland area whilst it traced Kit over a long distance before potentially taking human form. The proximity of this particular park to Edinburgh’s main fire station was also a reason for its selection, a contingency plan should something go wrong.

The coffee shop doubled as an internet café, and L selected it from the other surrounding coffee shops as it had high quality printing facilities, which made it an obvious selection for Kit with her photography business. Because it had so much electronic equipment the fire systems were state of the art and Watari had offered twice the insured value of the business if a fire started, regardless of whether that fire caused any damage. The owners had jumped at the chance.

Kit situated herself at one of the computers with her coffee, flicking through photos from the day at Loch Avon and even printing a few, wanting to see how they looked once on paper. Near, L and Light were all sat in the back of a van parked nearby, a video feed from a different camera on each of the many screens covering one side of the inside of the van. The audio feed came solely from Kit’s wire so as not to confuse things.

“Do you think it’s in there?” Light asked, studying the locals gossiping and idly sipping away at their own coffees.

“I don’t think so,” L was doing the same. “If it is, it is invisible or quite convincing.”

About ten minutes passed. People came and went from the shop, some of them single males and females. Few of those on their own sat down at a table or computer, though there were two who took a noticeable interest in Kit. Her black top was semi-transparent with black lace beneath, drawing the eye of several young men including those with partners.

“We can’t wait too long,” Light prompted. “If this is meant to be a date they would typically have agreed to meet at the hour or the half hour. If Mello doesn’t arrive soon he will have to wait another half hour.”

“Alright,” L telephoned the boy. “Off you go.”

“Make us proud,” Light added before L could hang up the phone.

A taxi pulled around the corner a minute later, Mello emerging.

L was right, Light considered, the youth did make a rather convincing woman.

Walking comfortably on tall stiletto heels, the shoes framing delicate feet with painted toenails. His pale blue skinny jeans somehow revealed no clues as to his real gender but fit closely. A white silk blouse, cut in such a way that it made it appear that he was a fairly flat-chested female rather than an entirely flat chested male, and his hair had been styled into an up-do twist that bared a neck that had not yet developed an Adam’s apple.

“That’s… different,” Light stated, not wanting to offend anyone with his amazement at the transformation.

“The creature will be fooled,” L agreed confidently.

Mello made his way into the coffee shop, greeting Kit with a small kiss on the cheek. Kit took his changed appearance in her stride, abandoning her computer to sit with him at one of the tables (specially selected for its location in the room in relation to the cameras) and talked idly about celebrity gossip and even police cases in the news.

“The police still have a guard tailing me most of the time,” Kit explained to Mello, “They have absolutely nothing to suggest that I caused any of those fires but they don’t trust me. I had to agree to it for them to allow me out without charging me, even though they know it would never stick in court.”

“That’s awful,” Mello frowned and turned his head to survey the coffee shop. “Does that mean you’re being followed now?”

“Nah,” Kit shrugged, gesturing to the very obvious cuff on her ankle; an old-style police tracking tag, antiquated technology that L would never normally use. “They’ve got me on google maps.”

“So, we don’t have some creepy guy getting off on the idea of us snogging?” Mello leaned closer, offering another kiss, this time on the lips. Kit responded in kind.

They leaned away, both smiling a little, making sure to look into each other’s eyes as if love struck.

“Did you hear about that?” Mello waved a manicured hand, nails painted to match his toenails, to one of the computer screens nearby that was playing the news.

“I’ve been pretty restricted in what I can do whilst I’m on house arrest with a guard,” Kit explained.

“People have been talking about it all week – it has to be the weirdest case since the Kira thing,” Mello gossiped, “some weirdo is going around killing Disney characters in Florida.”

“Really?” Kit looked away from her focus on Mello to the screen. “You mean, in the actual parks?”

“Yeah,” Mello leaned in conspiratorially. “The police are really puzzled, but I’m sure some day their prints will come.”

Kit stilled as she caught the joke, then glared at him but without her usual ferocity, a giggle breaking through.

“That has to be the worst Disney crime joke I’ve ever heard.”

“It’s the only Disney crime joke you’ve ever heard,” Mello teased. “It’s a thug’s life...”

“Emily, stop,” Kit giggled.

“How do you think the killer caught him?”

“Em…”

“Because he couldn’t mu-fasa.”

Kit groaned. “Stop now, that one wasn’t even funny.”

“I have more…” Mello grinned, silenced a moment later by Kit’s lips on his.

L watched closely as one of the men in the back of the coffee shop shifted in his chair. He, like a few of the other men, had been watching the pair as they had demonstrated their affection so far.

“Think he’s our man?” L asked Light’s opinion.

“He could be,” Light agreed. “But it’s impossible to say, there’s too many of them interested.”

A few more minutes of flirting didn’t reveal anyone in particular as a suspect, so L sent a message to Mello authorising the final step they were going to take that day to try to flush out their creature in human form.

Mello finished his coffee, getting to his feet and slipping himself onto Kit’s lap, wrapping his arms around her neck with one manicured hand running through Kit’s long hair.

“Want to come back to my place for coffee?” he purred close to her lips but loud enough that those on surrounding tables could hear clearly.

“I…” Kit was flustered, cheeks flushed. “We just had coffee?”

Mello kissed her, more deeply than the previous pecks on the lips, and ran a manicured nail along the back of Kit’s neck, leaving a faint red line.

“Then we’ll have to find something else to do,” he suggested.

“…sure,” Kit breathed. Mello slowly extracted himself from her lap and helped her to her unsteady feet.

In the van, L, Light and Near each focused on a different suspect, looking for clues.

“Nothing here,” they each spoke after a couple of minutes of Kit and Mello leaving the bar. If the creature had been there, it had been invisible, or they had missed it.

“We can look at the footage again later,” L suggested. “Near, that can be your task for the evening…”

“No,” Near stopped him. “You lost this one. Now it’s my turn. My plan.”

“…yes,” L agreed after a long moment considering the boy. “Of course. I’ll check it myself.”

“I’ll help,” Light offered, scowling at the youngest boy. Near was entirely uninterested and had already returned to the Lego structure he was creating.

 

* * *

 

“You were magnificent, my jewel,” Ryuk greeted Mello when he and Kit arrived back to the house. “A may queen, a Rome beauty, a shining star of Devon!”

“Apples,” Near supplied to Light and L, who had been briefly stunned. “They’re varieties of apples.”

“Ah,” Light nodded, frowning as the Shinigami followed Mello through to his room to change, still spouting compliments in the form of apple types.

“… perfectly Scrumptious, a Newton Wonder, a Golden Noble…”

“At least he isn’t bored,” L reassured Light, waving Kit across and offering her one of his lollipops. “I know you weren’t all that comfortable with all the physical contact today, and I am sorry I didn’t warn you about that last bit. I didn’t think you would agree to it if I had.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Kit confirmed. “But I don’t think Mello’s scarred for life or anything – well, he is, but not from that. What happened to him? In the past, I mean.”

“I’m not sure,” L admitted. “He’s been that way since he was first brought to Wammy’s house – that’s the orphanage for gifted youngsters. He was only about four or five then. He doesn’t remember it, or if he does, he doesn’t tell anyone.”

“I spoke with him in the car,” Kit explained. “He wouldn’t tell me anything either – he didn’t seem to be upset by it any more though. He’s turned it into a weapon… hell, he’s turned himself into a weapon. He’s just a kid, but he’s dangerous.”

“You should see his temper,” L grinned. “He’s torn Wammy’s apart a few times. Best to keep him otherwise occupied, this must be the least destructive he’s ever been.”

“He has a purpose,” Kit nodded. “He wouldn’t say much but he seemed really glad of that. He said he and Near are meant to be competing for top spot?”

“That was the plan,” L confirmed. “I’m hoping they can work together. You mustn’t tell them. I’ve been testing Mello mostly so far, seeing if he can follow orders and work within a team. It’s really important, because I think if Near takes the reins he won’t be keen to give up control. Tomorrow, Near’s plan, that’s a sort of test too. Promise you won’t say anything?”

Kit smiled as L held up his little finger for a pinkie swear. “Honestly, all of you have completely the wrong mental age.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” Kit smiled. “I won’t say anything to them – if you promise me something? Don’t tell Jay what we’re doing. He’d just get upset.”

“I don’t plan to,” L nodded.

* * *

 

Light had been laid awake for three hours after they had finally gone to bed. L was on the computer again, keeping Light awake.

“Do you have to watch all that footage tonight?” Light complained to him eventually.

“There may be clues that will help us tomorrow.”

“You’ve been through three camera angles, and repeated them in slow motion and black and white.”

“There are seven cameras,” L told him.

“L,” Light’s tone was warning. He was tired, and he wanted L to shut off the computer. The investigation would gain nothing from this and if L was awake he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“No, Light,” L scolded.

“Yes,” Light commanded.

“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” L rebelled, eyes flicking to the other man. “Kira.”

That was the final straw – Light had had enough. Abruptly, he sat upright, throwing his arm in a rapid loop around L’s body so that the handcuff chain trapped L’s arms as Light moved over him, kicking the laptop to the bottom of the bed. He caught L’s legs between his knees before the detective could kick him and pinned him flat.

“You need to sleep,” Light instructed.

“Make me,” L stuck his tongue out.

Light caught it between his lips, kissing L firmly. The detective froze, his wiry muscles tense, but then attacked, kissing back and struggling to free a hand enough to rest it on Light’s hip, long spidery fingers running small circles there. Light, determined to win this one, redoubled his efforts and with his now free hand stroked over L’s neck with his fingertips.

They drew apart when both had no choice but to take a breath, Light keeping L pinned in place.

“Will you sleep?” Light asked. “I’ll tie you to the bed if I have to.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” L challenged.

Light’s pyjama bottoms had a cord around the waist. It was the work of moments to remove it, loop it round the headboard slats and tie L’s hands with it securely.

“Do I need to tie your feet too?” Light challenged.

“Hmmm,” L’s expression had changed, and Light nearly withdrew at what he saw there. “Not if you kiss me again.”

Light wanted to refuse, he really did. He knew L intended to manipulate him, knew L had started physical contact between the two of them as a means to an end, and he had been determined to beat him at his own game, but he hadn’t expected it would go this far when he started out down this road. The look in L’s eyes worried him; it was too much like desire.

He wanted to refuse, but what worried him more was that what he was feeling was too much like desire in himself. It made no sense; he had never been interested before in anyone, and L was hardly what he expected to want. It was frightening that L’s manipulations were having such an effect.

Still, he couldn’t back down now, so he leaned in for another kiss of battling tongues.

“Goodnight,” he said firmly when it was done, rolling back to his side of the bed and trying to dismiss the hard consequence of having L laid out beneath him like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NB The café in this chapter is fictional, but I web search everything to check, and it seems there is an internet café near Pilrig park; I picked the location due to proximity to the fire station and an open area, I have no idea if the descriptions given are accurate to the real place. I cannot recommend or otherwise any of the coffee shops in Edinburgh, any descriptions are not based on real persons and only by chance have a similarity to a real place.
> 
> Also, you're all such lovely people, thanks for all the hits and kudos, it's nice to see people reading and enjoying


	10. Near's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Near, determined to be more involved with the case and prove himself to L, takes the reins

“Near,” Light asked over breakfast, “what was your bet with Mello?”

“That the two of you didn’t secretly have feelings for each other,” Near spat the word feelings like it was profanity, in contrast to his frequently emotionless tone. “I’m still right – even if you’ve gone soft. L wouldn’t be so stupid.”

L regarded Near silently, weighing his words.

What had clearly started as manipulation only a few days ago had grown out of either of their control that morning when Light woke before L and watched him sleep before waking him with a kiss. He released the cord from L’s hands when he saw the heat in L’s eyes, letting the detective untidy his hair and hold him closer. It had taken several minutes for them to part and when they did they had – chastely but closely – shared the shower to not be later than their usual for breakfast.

“Where are the others?” L asked.

“Getting ready,” Near explained. “It might be my plan but Mello’s the one who belongs in the field.”

“Where are we going?”

“A different coffee shop. Mello will be obvious in the background but I’m rather counting on Jay to bring the arsonist out of hiding – he clearly hates Jay,” Near explained. At L’s prompting, he quoted 86%.

“Where do you want us?”

“Here,” Near was definite in this, “this is mine and Mello’s catch now.”

“Is Kit okay with that?” L didn’t sound best pleased.

“It isn’t her choice,” Near fixed L in his panda-eyed gaze, L matching him glare for expressionless stare. “We’re going to catch our criminal, that’s the important thing. Unless you’re going soft too?”

“Just be careful,” L instructed. “It’s one thing to take risks for the win, but be careful that you win more than is lost.”

* * *

 

Mello had always trusted Near.

He would hate to admit it to his younger rival but whenever a logical plan was involved that require calculation and puzzle solving, Near far surpassed him. If they applied their talent to something more profitable for them – like poker – Near would be card counting while Mello would be the one goading others to raise the bet. They had never really enjoyed working together, reluctant to give the other an advantage in the race to be the next L, but even Mello would admit that their styles could complement one another near perfectly.

Therefore, though Mello had read both the file and Near’s report, he did not question the plan to bring in Jay. He was confident that Near would have considered all possible circumstances and protected against all risks. Even when Near left L and Light at home with only the video feed to watch, Mello chose to trust him.

Mello was not at all comfortable with the setup of the selected coffee shop.

Tactically, for a man armed with a gun, the shop was a poor selection. Not only was it small and crowded, leaving little enough opportunity for a clean shot, only the centre of the room had tables and chairs. The rest were booths and benches, giving plenty of locations for someone to conceal themselves.

Mello selected a booth which gave him the most inconspicuous location and the best view available of the shop. Unfortunately, this left him further from the door and if the arsonist were to arrive, set the place on fire and leave quickly he would have to take a shot or lose him.

Kit seemed to reflect his nerves, although in her case he expected she was more worried about how Jay would react to her having been away. Kit had not told him that she was still officially under investigation or being tracked by investigators. She had told him that she had been out for several days but had needed some space after her confinement and was only returning to the area that day.

Although Jay had seemed fine with this on the phone Mello did not get the impression from the file or from Kit that he was actually so forgiving.

Mello could not say he was surprised when Jay arrived half an hour late. It was exactly the sort of thing he expected from the profiled controlling and abusive male, even if Near had not predicted it with any certainty.

Since the last photos Mello had seen of him, Jay appeared to have abruptly stopped drinking. He was pale and sweating, with dark bags under his eyes and coarsely tremulous hands – in an acute withdrawal state. Mello fed this back to Near quietly, inclined to stop the operation immediately.

“This plan goes ahead,” Near denied him. “I thought this was likely.”

Mello disliked when Near kept such information from him, even if it was tactical to do so. He chose not to inform Near of this again, knowing it would make no difference.

Mello watched as Jay greeted Kit warmly, sitting on the same side of the booth even though that left Kit trapped between him and the wall and very cramped.

He turned his attention to any potential suspects dotted about the shop, reminding himself that they were the priority, not Jay and Kit.

No one had caught his attention so far, but several single men and women had entered and sat in booths where they were out of his sight. Without being able to see the camera feeds, Mello could do nothing to observe them. He knew Near was watching from the van but had concerns about Near’s ability to read the emotional state of anyone outside Wammy’s residents.

“Anything?” he asked quietly.

“Nothing yet,” Near spoke back to him through the ear piece. “Be ready.”

At his warning Mello’s hand moved to the concealed gun, taking off the safety.

“For what, exactly?” Mello demanded, disliking again Near’s tendency to withhold information.

“Some sort of flashpoint,” Near sounded bored. Simple human interaction had never been his forte. “He’s been quite tame so far, but he’s going to explode soon…”

At first Mello thought Near was talking about a suspect, but it only took a glance at Kit and Jay to understand who he referred to. Jay was leaning in to Kit and appeared to be demanding something from her which Kit was not giving. The fire in her eyes was out and they focused on the floor with a glazed look; Mello had seen that look before, long before he could consciously remember. It woke something primal and dangerous in him that usually exploded into house shredding tantrums at Wammy’s, but today felt like a blade; focused and sharp. His grip tightened on the gun.

“Hold, Mello,” Near warned, expecting Mello’s reaction. “He is not the target.”

Mello dragged his eyes away, the sharp rage still there but contained beneath the surface.

“I have no clear view,” Mello warned Near again, noting all three single males in the shop were out of his direct line of sight. “No clear shot either.”

“I see them,” Near reassured him. “Be ready…”

In the booth opposite Mello, Jay grabbed Kit’s wrist and restrained it on the table top.

Flames erupted in the empty booth just behind Jay, the fire singing his hair and forcing him away from Kit.

“Move.” Near commanded in Mello’s ear.

Almost instantly the flames began to produce acrid black smoke as the extreme heat melted and burned the rubber and stuffing of the booth cushions. The fire alarm sounded, overwhelming the sudden shrieks and shouts of the customers as the sprinklers activated.

Mello moved, out of the booth and straight to Kit. Without a clear suspect he was more focused on minimalizing any danger and the thick smoke looked toxic at best.

“No,” to Mello’s ears Near’s emotionless voice sounded exasperated. “Block the door. No one leaves.”

“They have to evacuate!” Mello snapped back. “The place is on fire and the smoke is horrific!”

As expected, Jay had been one of the first out of the door, leaving Kit in the booth to fend for herself. Mello took her out of the back of the shop, hoping to avoid the ex-soldier.

In the alleyway at the back of the shop, Mello blanked the sound of Near’s voice scolding him through the ear piece and supported Kit as hacking coughs shook her frame.

Once she had her breath and was able to stand for herself, Mello straightened and looked to the lights at the end of the alleyway.

Backed by the light of the street, a male silhouette stood out sharply. From the darkness of the alley, the way it blocked their only exit appeared looming and threatening. The figure was indistinct, no features visible, and that meant that even though he suspected this could be the creature, he could not shoot to kill if he could not identify his target. He fired his gun into the floor at the figure’s feet, a warning shot to get it to move and allow him to take Kit to safety.

Unlike any innocent person would, the figure held its ground a moment more.

“Shoot it,” Near commanded.

Mello, telling himself he trusted Near, raised the gun and tightened his finger on the trigger.

The figure disappeared entirely.

“Shit!” he cursed, not daring to fire into the street without being able to see his target.

“Next time,” Near instructed, “don’t hesitate.”

“It could have been an innocent,” Mello argued.

“Collateral damage,” Near bluntly dismissed. “If you play chess you can’t be so afraid to lose a pawn or two.”

“People aren’t chess pieces!” Mello exclaimed, exasperated and still filled with pent up anger from seeing Jay and Kit’s interactions.

“You are angry,” Near reflected.

“Of course I’m fucking angry!”

“Mello,” Near prompted. “It might do you good to empty that gun. Can you see a suitable target?”

“Jay’s head,” Mello suggested. “Your head… nope, no suitable target here.”

“Don’t be melodramatic,” Near scolded. “Grow up and control yourself.”

Mello growled, tearing out the earpiece and throwing it down the dark alley. It clattered against a set of wooden boxes which Mello emptied his gun in to, one shot after another.

“Hey, kid,” Kit spoke soothingly when the gun clicked on an empty barrel for a few seconds. “It’s okay… Near knew we’d never get him today.”

“Well he didn’t fucking tell me that,” Mello grumbled.

“It’s fine,” Kit told him – but it wasn’t fine to Mello, knowing how much danger Near had put them both in. “It’s just one more day and we’ll be done.”

“One more day?” Mello was still tense and stressed, but if Near said just one more day he had no reason not to trust that. He sighed heavily. “Fine… I’m fine.”

“Shall we go see if the shop’s okay?”

“Near will deal with it,” Mello assured her. “Or Watari will. Whatever. Let’s just get back to the house and make sure L comes with us tomorrow.”

* * *

 

L and Light had fallen in to an easy rhythm whilst Mello and Kit were out of the house each day. When they did not need to be tracking the pair the computers were left running in the background (in case of unexpected ambush en route) and spent the morning looking through cases and communicating with different police agencies.

Lunch brought an awkward balance as L tried to make platefuls of sweet foods and Light resisted, instead making the detective eat at least one balanced meal each day. This was only at lunch time; L could not afford to lose face in front of Watari or the others, as if his handler got the idea that he would agree to eat anything other than sweets he would be forced to do so more regularly. It wasn’t that he enjoyed Light’s cooking; savoury foods were repellent, but he had agreed to try a little several days ago in a fit of foolishness and Light’s disappointed expression when he didn’t like his first mouthful had been enough to convince him to finish the plate.

After lunch they would exercise, L teaching Light some techniques from capoeira that were almost impossible for a novice to perform whilst restricted by a handcuff and chain. Then they would be able to dedicate time to observing Kit and Mello and, on this day, Near.

“He doesn’t care at all,” Light commented as he heard some of Near’s most dismissive comments.

“It can be helpful,” L justified. “Sometimes humanity and kindness are all that stop a case from being solved.”

“There may be a time and a place,” Light allowed. “But this… don’t you think he’s going too far?”

“Mello feels too much. If they balance one another out…”

“If they ever listen to each other,” Light corrected. “But I’m not sure Near does – he’s too inflexible. Besides, it’s not alright if your successor is two people who only function in an acceptable way when they are together.”

“There are disadvantages to always working alone,” L speculated. Light grinned at him, laying an arm around the detective’s crouch-bent back.

“I like working with you too.”

“Don’t get sentimental,” L scolded. “You’re still my prisoner.”

“Of course I am,” Light still grinned, leaning in.

L’s attention snapped to the screens as the fire ignited, the smoke immediately obscuring the best views and leaving them with only the chaotic audio feed.

By the time the smoke cleared the activity was long gone other than the rain-like droplets still being dispersed by the sprinklers.

* * *

 

Near did not react well to being scolded that evening. He soothed himself with his Tarot card stack but it was clear that he was angry that L should treat him like the child he still was. It was entirely possible that L had gone too far, overwhelming the young boy – he was used to being scolded by Watari, but as the older man was away finding cases for them it fell on L to do the job.

Rem had encouraged Kit to leave the conversation, going with her to observe her per L’s plan for when Kit was alone. Mello and Ryuk had left the house together, plotting something to alleviate the teenager’s anger. Therefore, this was the best chance L would have to get Near alone (Kira aside) and he was determined to take the chance to more properly evaluate the boy thought to be the most likely successor to L from Wammy’s house.

“That was part one,” Near said by way of explanation. “Part two is when we catch him.”

“How much did you consider the risk when you made this plan?”

“Fully,” Near confirmed. “There was a 92% chance that the creature would show himself if Jay physically attacked Kit; he is aiming to kill Jay, not her. I equated only a 10% chance of identifying him in the first operation; a 78% chance in the second, and only a 6% chance that Kit would be seriously hurt. That’s down to 4% now by the way with one half of the plan complete.”

L nodded, unable to argue with numbers like that, except…

“Kit’s under our protection,” L instructed. “That means any _collateral damage_ is entirely unacceptable.”

“No plan is without risk,” Near glanced between Kira and L pointedly.

“That is my own risk to take with my own life,” L argued. “I try not to allow any collateral damage if it can be avoided.”

“That’s because you consider it losing,” Near huffed. “I don’t.”

* * *

 

As L and Light prepared for bed that night, Light considered Near’s actions that day.

“Do you think the Death Note influences everyone around it, not just the one who possesses it?”

“No,” L told him simply. “If it did, all of us would be affected. Mello seems far calmer here than he was ever reported to be at Wammy’s. Near is just… Near.”

“So this is him?” Light concluded. “Everything’s a puzzle and the only thing with value is the win?”

“It is a necessary mindset in some cases,” L pointed out.

“No,” Light frowned at him. “Can you give me any example of a case in which you’ve never even considered showing some form of mercy?”

“I regularly hand you files for people to kill,” L pointed out.

“But you have very strict criteria for who those people are,” Light clarified. “And that is after a clear consideration of if there is any other way to save people. You never gave me back the Iranian red case, you helped the police catch him and give him life in prison instead.”

L twitched as if he wanted to say something, but stopped himself.

“Even the Kira case,” Light continued. “Arguably the most successful mass murderer of all time – if I do say so myself – and instead of sentencing the culprit to death or even prison, you’ve given me a chance to work with you and continue to make the world a better place. You’ve let me into your world, L. Near wouldn’t do that.”

“Near wouldn’t be so foolish,” L agreed, stepping in to catch Light’s lips in a kiss, hoping to silence him.

“He wouldn’t understand,” Light argued, kissing L again. “He would just want to finish the game – want to win. He wouldn’t be able to leave the case incomplete, no matter what he got out of it.”

“And what am I going to get out of it?” L asked, widening his panda eyes expectantly.

“Don’t push your luck,” Light grinned, giving L a shove backwards. The detective looked momentarily hurt to be pushed away, but the expression left him immediately as the back of his knees hit the bed and Light moved over him.

Half an hour and a thousand kisses and caresses later, L perched on the bed, awake and watching Light trying to sleep. Had he not been chained to the younger boy at the wrist, L would have allowed him privacy to deal with what must be an uncomfortable issue, but he was not willing to release him from the chain just yet.

Light had raised an interesting point earlier; the influence of the Notebook could not be taken lightly. L had been feeling it as well until just a few days ago, when he had succumbed to temptation himself to write a third name in the Death Note. Poor foolish Light had thought the Iranian case solved by the local police with L’s help, but L had simply taken that criminal’s death for his own. When Watari had brought L’s notebook, he had also been asked to bring a single sheet of L’s, which L had used at the same time to write the name.

L had to find a plan to manage his own pull to the Notebook; he could hardly help Light if he found himself battling his own addiction. So, was it so unreasonable to think that the Note may affect everyone who touched it?

The evidence simply stood against that being true. Impulsive, rash and violent Mello had been calmer and more rational than ever since coming to the house. Of course, Ryuk was helping with that, the Shinigami’s mutual interest in constant amusement keeping Mello distracted from any house-trashing tendencies thus far. It was also possible that the Note would be affecting Mello less because he was spending so much more time than Near outside the house, escorting Kit on her days out.

It was something L would have to consider, even if he did not attribute more than a 7% chance to it being true.

There was another issue that had begun to concern L.

Light Yagami had never taken interest in anyone before. L had intended to manipulate him with affectionate gestures, recognising this as a weak point only after he had taken control of the Notebook. However, it was out of character for Kira and it had been unexpected from the beginning.

There was an obvious adaptive reason why Light might be, without knowing it, influenced by the Note to have an interest in L’s affections. L was the one who controlled how much access Light had to the Notebook, so, logically, if the Notebook did want to be used it would make sense to have a close relationship between L and Light. This would make it more likely that L would give Light access to the Note regularly and more names would be written.

It concerned L that he was also starting to feel for Light; not something like love, but affection, certainly, and a certain amount of a more primal desire. These feelings were alien to him, too, and their rapid development surely had to suggest input from an external source – such as the Notebooks.

L had a decision to make.

If the Notebooks were drawing them together, he could decide either to keep things going down the path that they were – it would provide a clear way to control Kira, but would be dangerous in the long run as L’s mind was also being influenced and it seemed likely that this would not end well. However, if he were to try to stop the Note’s influence, he would have to either stop showing affection to Light – a dangerous plan as well, as without this he wasn’t sure what hold he would have to stop the younger man using the Notebook and ultimately trying to kill him. He could try to stop the influence of the Note by taking Light’s access to it out of his own control – also risky, since Light could return to being Kira, though perhaps less so than usual since Light had no way to know his true name or that of his successors Mello and Near – together the three of them would surely be enough to stop him quickly, no matter how far he fell.

He did not have to make the decision tonight, L concluded as Light’s breathing finally evened out into sleep. He could take a little more time, perhaps cement any affectionate feelings in Light before he took action; perhaps at that time he could be confident that Kira could be contained, even with the Notebook in his own hands.

As he was drifting off to sleep, L wondered how he could ever go about admitting to Light that he had used the Notebook himself.


	11. Burned

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second part of Near's plan, and its consequences

The sky was dark that day: the clouds threatened an incoming storm, the winds almost blowing the surveillance van over as they travelled across the Forth Bridge towards Edinburgh.

Kit had not been sure that Jay would even consider meeting with her again after the events the previous day, but Near had been confident that he would do so.

“He wants to control you,” Near told her simply. “Yesterday he lost that control – again. That will infuriate him. He will not pass up the chance to meet with you. Besides, he didn’t see Mello, so he didn’t know it was a set up. That won’t be a problem today.”

It seemed Near had chosen the coffee shop the day before specifically because it would be nigh on impossible for anyone to see Mello whilst he acted as protection for Kit. The lack of lines of sight had been a deliberate plan rather than an oversight by the young detective, though Mello was still sore about it.

As they were travelling as a group in the two-car convoy that day, Ryuk and Rem were both able to join them on the sting rather than remaining at the house with L and Light. Rem had taken a position perched on top of the car in which Kit travelled, while Ryuk lounged in the back of the surveillance van with Mello, eating apples while Mello cleaned and checked his guns.

“You should try one of these,” Ryuk recommended. Watari had finally succumbed to Mello’s request for chocolate covered apple slices. The pieces were meant to be saved for the evening, once the case was over, as part of a victory feasts of sorts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in Ryuk’s nature to be patient, and he had already finished about a quarter of the number Mello had left in places he would think to search.

“I’m busy,” Mello told Ryuk, who took the opportunity whilst Mello’s mouth was open to shove in a chocolate covered apple slice. Mello choked on it for a second before clearing his airway and chewing. It was indeed delicious.

“Don’t be boring, Akane,” Ryuk scolded, offering out more apple slices. Mello picked one out of his large hand and threw it at the Shinigami, who caught it between sharp teeth, grinning.

The day before, when Mello had returned home in a rage, Ryuk had noted the look in the boy’s eyes and taken him out of the house and into the open fields beyond. The quiet had only served to infuriate the boy more, so Ryuk had decided to so something quite unusual for a Shinigami and a human – he had taken the boy flying.

Well, flying might be a generous term. Even a thousand feet up where the air was far too thin for Mello to adjust to quickly, Mello had quickly reacted to the shock and in his anger, had not seen the appeal. He kicked, punched and bit, fighting his way out of Ryuk’s hold.

So, Ryuk dropped him.

He didn’t let him fall far – just enough to get the shock and adrenaline to shake some of the anger loose. And then he did it again, and once more, and Mello was laughing and exhilarated and Ryuk couldn’t help but laugh too.

By the time they returned to the house, Mello hadn’t forgotten what Near had done that day but he was able to let it go.

Light and L focused on listening to Near’s plan. Unlike Mello, L could read into Near’s plan and predict the potential outcomes – he was able to point out the flaws and chances and risks. This was helpful to all of them, but especially Mello, who was hoping to have contingency plans in place for every circumstance.

To Mello, though he didn’t mind taking risks and did, admittedly, understand the concept of collateral damage, understanding these risks would allow him to prevent the worst from happening if possible. This was not the Kira case, this wasn’t actually that big, just an unsolved mystery that they would all learn more from. That wasn’t worth the death of someone under their protection or any of their lives.

“If the worst should happen,” Near concluded, “if a fire starts before the culprit can be identified, it will be Mello’s job to capture the suspect and L and Kira and Watari will only get involved if Kit is at risk and requires extraction. Mello, you will ignore Kit – she is not your responsibility.”

“Don’t get her killed,” Mello jumped in.

“I won’t,” Near told him confidently.

And so, Mello was sitting in the coffee shop, Ryuk forced to wait in the van outside so that if the creature could see other supernatural occurrences he would not give them away. Mello had purchased an apple tart from the shop to console him with later. This location was perfect; a clear line of sight through the entire shop, the entrance and exit. Busy enough for him to blend in to the crowd with his disguise in place, quiet enough that it was highly unlikely there would be any interference or obstruction to his gun shots, if the opportunity arose.

Kit sat at her table facing the entrance, clearly tense and nervous. Near told him that this was to be expected, since Jay would be angry and she would know that she was in trouble.

“See anyone who was in the shop yesterday?” Mello asked softly.

“No,” Near advised. “You?”

“I couldn’t get a good view of the singular men in the shop yesterday, as you well know,” Mello complained. “A couple of them look similar, but I only really got a glance before, I could be wrong.”

“Watch them,” Near instructed. “Jay’s coming, they may give themselves away when he enters.”

Mello did as instructed, forcing himself not to focus on Jay as he entered the shop.

“They all reacted,” Mello fed back. “But that’s hardly a surprise.”

Jay had slammed the door of the coffee shop open so that it shook on its hinges, his eyes fixed glaring on Kit. It seemed he had come to pick a fight.

“Focus,” Near prompted. “We will handle Kit.”

“The black haired man at the back looks like he wants to take Jay on,” Mello reported, noting the other man’s clenched fists and the way his legs braced under the table ready to take his weight. “There’s a blonde at the front who seems to be having a panic attack – he’s just doing deep breathing. Another blonde in front of me, he’s not paying much attention just now, avoiding eye contact. Two brunettes at the counter, they arrived separately but I thought they’d met up, one of them looks like he’s going to do something though.”

“Can you pick one?” Near asked, relying on Mello’s observational skills.

“If this creature can start fires, he wouldn’t bother with a physical fight,” Mello noted. “So we can rule out the black haired guy and one of the brunettes. The others…”

Mello didn’t have time to finish. A brief exchange of heated words between Kit and Jay had been completed, and Jay had lashed out, striking Kit across the face with a forceful fist. Flames leapt up in the doorway and spread explosively towards Jay, who leapt away as quickly as his bulky form would allow.

“Option thirteen,” Mello spoke quickly into the receiver, wincing internally as the worst case scenario came to pass. The fire blocked the main exit from the coffee shop, making it impossible for the patrons to leave without going through the back of the shop. They hadn’t had enough time to confirm a suspect, and the quickest route to extract Kit was now blocked.

Mello trusted L, was confident that if L’s task was to extract Kit, it would be done. Still, he was on his feet immediately, his eyes flashing between the suspects, seeking who was the most likely culprit. His guns were ready in his hands, twin pistols, the sight of which stopped the patrons rushing to leave through the back exit in their tracks, screaming and begging for their lives.

Kit wasn’t worried by Mello, and rushed through the crowd and out of the door beyond him where she was immediately picked up by L and Light.

“The blonde with the panic attack,” Near’s voice in his ear. “Where did he go?”

“No one has gone past me,” Mello confirmed, his eyes scanning the terrified patrons. He had to move; had to let them out. The fire was spreading quickly, the alarm system not activating, sprinklers not turning on.

“Find him,” Near commanded, “Let the others go.”

Mello moved aside, leaving space for one at a time to go past him. The crowd rushed through when he made it clear that he had no intention of using the guns on them.

“He’s not here,” Mello noted as he had a good look at everyone’s face.

Across the room the flames climbed higher, surrounding a single figure who appeared to be curled into a ball on the floor.

“One trapped,” Mello reported, stashing one of his guns and pulling out a gas mask. “I’m going to extract.”

“No!” Light shouted in his ear. Mello was sure that tone belonged not to the perfect student but instead to Kira. “Leave him.”

“No unnecessary casualties,” Mello snapped. “I promised Kit.”

“Mello!”

Mello ignored them, racing to the flames and leaping over the circle as best he could. The unnatural arrangement of the fire had left a circle in the middle that was rapidly becoming smaller; Mello struggled to force the man in the centre, Jay, to his feet before the flames could get too close.

“Move!” he yelled in the man’s ear. “Attention, soldier! Forward!”

The army commands seemed to break through Jay’s trance, forcing him to his feet and prepared to go forwards even through the wall of flames but there was another barrier in their way.

Within the fire, a figure stood unaffected by the flame. It was the blonde man from before; the one who had a panic attack when Jay entered. Mello stared him down, palming one of his guns in preparation to fight his way out.

Beyond the flame there was another – the distinctive shadow of Near behind the blonde man. Mello waited for a long moment, expecting Near to move, but quickly realised that he had no intention to help.

“Let me pass or I will shoot,” Mello warned fairly to the figure in the flames. He was quite convinced that the bullet would not be fatal, but it would still hurt, and it was all he had.

The blonde man slowly inclined his head and stepped aside, seeming to melt into the flames.

“You have to jump,” Mello told Jay, encouraging him. “Near, a fire extinguisher – quickly! Make a gap in the flame.”

The younger boy huffed through the ear piece like a child being asked to clean their room. Ryuk, unable to be contained any further by the van, slammed the fire extinguisher down in front of Near, who took it up and shot a jet at the flame.

“Now!” Mello shouted at Jay.

The man moved, jumping through the gap in the flames.

The heat was getting unbearable now; slowly cooking Mello in the moments he had to wait for Jay to land and move a few steps so that he could leap through after him.

The fire extinguisher spluttered, a small amount air coming through instead of foam, and the flames leapt higher.

Mello screamed, the fire catching his left side, deflected by fire proof clothing but catching on the gas mask and the side of his face. He snatched the device away, Ryuk retrieving a bucket of half melted ice chips from behind the coffee bar and dumping it over his head to cool the rapidly blistering burns.

“Help get him out of here!” Watari ordered, helping support Mello on one side as Near watched, curiosity in his eyes.

Near strode out calmly after them, closing the door on the spreading fire. Jay was outside already, stopped by Light as he tried to flee from the scene.

“Go to the van,” Watari ordered Near, helping Mello into the car. “I’ll get him to the hospital.”

Near nodded, following the instruction without a kind word to Mello, his attention turning to Kira and Jay.

“Mello should have left you to burn,” Kira growled at Jay. “When this is done, I will make sure that you do.”

“Light,” L soothed, “priorities.”

“Humans are vile creatures,” Rem reminded in the background, glaring at Jay. Kit, somehow reassured by the presence of the Shinigami, had placed herself very close to the looming figure.

“Men,” Kit corrected. “Men are repulsive, slimy worms.”

Rem studied Kit carefully, slowly reaching a hand out to rest on her shoulder.

“Yes,” Rem agreed. “You are right.”

“Stay with me?” Kit requested, looking up at the Shinigami.

“If you wish,” Rem moved closer, wings arcing in a possessive and warning gesture to anyone who was able to see her.

“We should go,” L prompted the gathered team and Jay.

“Fuck no,” Jay shook his head. “I want nothing to do with you creepy fucks. Kit, I’ll deal with you later. Fucking bitch.”

Rem’s single eye narrowed as she watched him walking away.

“He is not a threat to your life,” Rem told Kit. “If you wish, I can end him now.”

“No,” L interrupted. “Whilst I agree that he will ultimately have to die after this, we still need him.”

Light looked surprised at L’s declaration of murderous intent, but was glad of it. Jay was, in words the man would favour, a piece of shit who deserved to die.

* * *

 

The team worried about Mello as the day wore on and Watari didn’t call. The burns had been drastic, perhaps significant enough to require skin grafts or cause some horrible scarring, but what was more worrying with facial burns was always the possibility of inhaled heat. If the inside of Mello’s throat had been burned there was a possibility that his airway would slowly close and he would be unable to breathe.

All of them were gathered in the main sitting room, indulging in their favourite ways to pass time whilst they waited. Near’s Tarot cards had created a room-filling sculpture of Notre Dame, L had eaten three cakes and two cheesecakes, countless biscuits and other sweet snacks. Light had taken to going through cases, focusing on those with red forms, in an attempt to sooth his urge to write Jaecar Donovan into the Notebook.

Kit was holding an ice pack to her cheek, which was swelling significantly. The inside of her cheek had been cut on her teeth with the force of the punch and she had been spitting blood intermittently for the past six hours.

“How does it feel?” Light asked, concerned as Kit winced again.

“I didn’t know it was possible for something to be both numb and painful at the same time,” Kit told him, trying to move her mouth as little as possible as she spoke. “Beyond that… well, you know.”

“I don’t,” Light assured her, frowning slightly.

“Yes you do,” Kit told him. “Your cheek was bruised too when we first met – it was fading, but you learn to notice these things.”

“Oh,” Light had almost forgotten the bruising on his cheek from his fights with L; L’s footprint leaving blue marks. “That was different.”

“Part of a case?”

“Kind of,” Light smiled slightly. “It’s… complicated.”

“Oh,” Kit gasped. “It was L, wasn’t it? But I thought… I thought you were together?”

“We kind of are, now,” Light admitted. “Sort of… I mean…”

He looked to the man at the other end of the handcuff chain, but L was deliberately ignoring their conversation.

“L and I weren’t so close then – it would still have been quite fair to call us enemies. We haven’t fought like that – hurting each other, I mean, - not since we stopped being enemies and started being… whatever we are.”

“It’s complicated,” Kit tried to smile but it hurt her cheek. “I imagine if you ever tried to make a facebook, that wouldn’t just be your relationship status.”

“Why on earth would anyone want a facebook account?” Light was disgusted.

“I have several,” L interrupted. “It was useful for tracking you down, Kira. Remind me to show you your fan groups one day. In fact, since it came out in the news that I caught you, there are some extremely amusing stories our fans have written.”

“Trust me, unless you want to be scarred for life, you don’t want to read those,” Kit warned.

“What are we going to do?” Near asked.

“Wait for news about Mello,” Light reminded angrily.

“About the case,” Near continued.

“Nothing until we hear back about Mello,” Light argued.

“No,” L sighed. “He’s right, we need to take our minds off what happened today. A watched cake never bakes and all.”

“You know my vote,” Light shrugged. “Kill Jay and the problem goes away. The arsonist is only attacking when Kit is threatened.”

“True,” L agreed. “But he remains obsessed with her and he has killed people, Light. That cannot be completely excused just because they were…”

“Collateral damage,” Light pointed out.

“Unnecessary collateral damage,” L countered. “That could have been avoided. We have established that all efforts should be made to minimise this.”

“Do I get a vote?” Kit asked quietly.

“Yes,” Light assured her.

“I’d like to talk to him,” Kit suggested. “The creature, I mean. I don’t think he wants to hurt me so if you’re all there it should be safe. And… I don’t think I’ll be safe if Jay is out there.”

“We can make a plan around that,” Near nodded, climbing on the back of Kit’s chair to reach the top of the Tarot card stack.

“I’d feel safer if Mello were there,” Kit advised them.

“Then we wait until he is out of hospital,” L agreed. “We have been moving too quickly, we need to back away, let the creature relax a little; perhaps that way we won’t get another fire.”

“He did look panicked,” Light nodded. “Maybe the fires aren’t actually even deliberate, maybe they’re what happens when he gets anxious.”

“Maybe,” L agreed. “We will have to consider whether that counts as mitigating circumstances…”

L’s phone began to ring, the one that they had been waiting for half the day to hear. L snatched it from the table, pinching it in spidery fingers.

“Yes?” he responded, listening closely. After a few minutes he closed the phone.

“Mello will be alright,” he told the team. “The doctors wanted to intubate him to stop his airway closing but he fought them when they suggested sedation. In the end they had to accept that he wouldn’t let them and even though he was panicked he was able to make that decision. It sounds like he caused a substantial amount of damage in the process – we will owe the hospital around 5 million for repairs and replacement equipment. His face will be scarred, but it will have to heal without grafts. The doctors say he will be out in a week, so we can likely expect him to be back in the next two or three days – he has never been patient.”

“Thank goodness he’ll be okay,” Kit beamed.

“His face,” Light frowned at L. “Will he…”

“He’ll probably love it,” L grinned, thinking about what he knew of Mello. “Especially if it makes him look a bit more masculine. He’ll just have to wear his hair in a big side fringe when he wants to masquerade as a woman.”

“What are we going to do until he’s out?” Near asked.

“Solve a few more cases,” L shrugged. “I’m sure we can find a way to keep occupied.”

“I can think of a few,” Kit suggested. “If you’re willing to leave the house, anyway. I’d like to show you some fun things up here – it’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me.”

The team dispersed, exhausted, to their beds shortly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick acknowledgement before you go, in case it calls any confusion, I realise Edinburgh is no longer using the Forth Bridge in 2018, however this is set within Death Note timeline; so it would definitely be the Forth if they're coming from North to Edinburgh.  
> Thanks for reading, kudos and comments


	12. Gunfire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Mello injured, the team of detectives take some time out of the case, giving him chance to recover. L uses the opportunity to try giving Light back a few small freedoms.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Watari asked as Kit collected two cases from the boot of the car.

“Not at all,” Kit laughed lightly. “But I think they’ll enjoy it.”

“Do you think they’ll survive it?”

“Don’t worry so much,” Kit laughed.

“I have to,” Watari complained. “It’s my job to worry about L – he never does it himself.”

“He’ll be fine,” Kit reassured confidently. “If Kira wanted him dead he’d have done it by now, and even if he was biding his time, shooting him just wouldn’t be his style.”

“That’s still not very reassuring,” Watari scowled. “Are you sure I can’t convince you not to let mass murderers handle guns?”

“To shoot clays? I’m sure they can handle it.”

“And you’re sure Mello won’t be angry?” Watari had two further cases, each containing one of Mello’s guns – those most suited to clay shooting.

“I’m pretty sure so long as we get photos he’ll forgive me for borrowing his weapons,” Kit shrugged. “I can’t wait to see how awkward Near and L are at this.”

“They might surprise you.”

“Please,” Kit rolled her eyes. “Those boys have never held guns in their lives. Why would they, they never leave the house?”

“Wammy’s has a wide and varied curriculum,” Watari advised. “Shotguns aren’t on it but they’ve handled weapons before.”

“Good,” Kit grinned. “We can make it a competition.”

Watari set down the cases where the boys were waiting, rubbing his forehead to get rid of the tension that threatened to turn into a headache.

“Need I explain to you why that would be a bad idea?”

“You’re kidding right?” Kit’s grin widened. “To L and Kira, competition is pretty much the same as flirting.”

“Maybe that’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Relax, Watari,” L took one of the cases, inspecting the shotgun inside. It was a Beretta Silver Pigeon, slightly out of place in Mello’s collection given its fairly reasonable price tag but very functional and slightly showy. It was a decent enough gun without an unreasonably strong kick back and would not be unmanageable for Kit with her daintier frame. He suggested this to her and although he got a mouthful of abuse about calling her dainty she did accept it.

He gave Near a Lanber sporter – a gun perfectly suited to novices – and retained the two most expensive and at the same time most difficult guns for himself and Light.

“Shall I go warn the instructor about the chain?” Watari asked L, glancing at the obvious sign of Light’s captivity that could not be hidden in this activity as it had been in the airport.

“No,” L held out an open palm instead.

“You have considered the outcomes?” Watari asked levelly, reaching into his pocket to produce a small key.

“93.3%,” L quoted. “Today.”

Watari handed him the key with a small sigh. He would definitely be needing some paracetamol when he got back to the van.

“It will be difficult for you to shoot whilst constantly connected to me,” L advised Light. “I’m going to trust you without the chain, but the cuff will still be in place, and Rem is ready to shock you if you make even the slightest movement to shoot anyone.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Light grumbled. L looked up at him with pleading panda eyes.

“93.3% isn’t a vote of confidence?” he asked curiously.

“I’m not going to shoot you, L,” Light rolled his eyes, holding out his hand for the key to unlock the chain from the cuff.

“Not until the case is over,” Near chipped in. “Then he wouldn’t be able to find the answer, and he’s as much a detective as he is a serial killer.”

“Thank you Near,” Light scowled at the boy.

“Can we not start fighting before we start shooting things?” Kit complained, encouraging the boys to make a move to where the instructor was waiting. Taren was one of her friends from her photography, having bought many of her prints over the years. He had agreed to come instruct them and provide the clays in exchange for a fairly large sum of money – inflated once he learned Kira would be in the group – and one of Kit’s latest photos of the osprey taken a few days prior. As a bold Scottish highlander, he hadn’t been one to flinch from a challenge but even he had expressed some concerns.

“Awrite a' fowk, welcome tae Scotland,” the instructor greeted them, keeping an eye on Light’s every movement out of the corner of one eye. “Kit promises me ye ur gonnae behae yoorselves fur me the-day, but if ye tak' advantage ay 'at Ah will pit a hot in yer back. Jist sae ye ken.”

“They’ll be fine, Taren,” Kit laughed, lightly thumping the man on the shoulder.

“Ye say 'at but 'at disnae pure techt Ah hae tae troost them,” Taren grinned broadly at her. “Sae hoo dae ye want tae dae thes?”

“A few practice shots to get the idea,” Kit suggested, “And then I was thinking best of ten shots each?”

“Aye, that soonds fair. Come alang 'en.”

“Have you ever fired a gun before?” L asked Light as they set up for their first attempts.

“Not at all,” Light smiled slightly. “Ironic, isn’t it?”

“You have a far more precise weapon,” L shrugged, referencing the Note. “I can’t really picture you shooting a person. Let me show you…”

L’s hand covered Light’s as the younger boy tried to work out how to load the gun, guiding his fingers expertly.

“Thanks,” Light smiled at the detective, slightly tempted to lean in and peck him on the lips regardless of the others around them.

“If ye two lovebirds ur ready,” Taren called them to attention. Near and Kit were watching them. “Thaur will be puckle easy ones tae start. N, ye first.”

Near stepped in front of the others, focusing along the barrel of his gun and waiting. After a second in which Kit took several photos, the clay was loosed and two shots rang out, the first sailing straight past the clay, the second catching the edge but not shattering it.

“Nae bad fur a first try,” Taren praised, choosing to ignore the angry look that had only reached Near’s eyes. “L, woods ye loch tae gang next?”

L fared much better than Near, showing Kit what Watari meant about his unexpected familiarity with guns as a single shot shattered the clay.

“Guid,” Taren praised. “Kit, puddin’”

Kit had absolutely no trouble with an easy shot, taking out the clay. The gun pulled slightly down and left, the shot slightly light for it. She would need to adjust for the next shots, which would be harder and the pull of the gun would have more influence.

“Noo Kira,” Taren looked wary. “Ah meant whit Ah said affair, onie funay business an' Ah shoot ye, ken?”

Light mimicked L’s creepiest grin, sauntering forward confidently and aiming the gun into the air where he expected the clay. He was aware that he was slightly posing for Kit’s camera as she took a few stills.

“Ye will hae tae follaw th' clay wi' th' gin,” Taren instructed.

“Just loose it,” Light told him, confident that he would work it out quickly once he began. The clay fired into the sky; Light’s first shot was ahead of it, missing completely as he underestimated the recoil on the gun, but his second as he gritted his teeth, his eyes narrowing into a glare at the annoyance of having failed first time, and shot again hit its mark.

“That's yer mudder coopon, isnae it?” Taren had his gun slightly raised from his side but not aimed at Light. Light sniffed, amused at the fear in the man.

“Well done,” L praised, pulling Light in for a congratulatory kiss. They ignored the childish laughter, the camera’s flash and oohs of those around them for a moment as they indulged. Light understood; such an affectionate (weak) gesture would no doubt reassure their instructor that Light had other reasons to be there than improving his murdering skills. However, he wasn’t sure how he felt about Kit taking photos – he could just imagine the newspaper headlines that would go with them as the world learned L and Kira were more than working together.

“Nae ferlie ye didne send heem tae prison,” Taren smirked as the two parted. “Is 'at nae a conflict ay interest? Actually nae, it's nane ay mah business, forgit it. Let’s dae some mair tricky shots.”

Each of the team got five additional practice shots before Taren suggested they move on to competition, recognising that they were picking up the skill so quickly that if they didn’t start soon it was likely that they would just hit all targets. All except Near, who was always close to hitting the clay but seemed to fire just a moment too early, missing or clipping it rather than hitting it centrally and shattering it. The boy was getting increasingly angry despite his almost expressionless look, and the frustration was making it worse, his hands trembling and making the shots also fly high or low of the target.

“Bit ay ten, nae shot th' sam, change guns efter fife,” Taren added the final rule when considering that there would have to be a way to differentiate the three who leaned so quickly.

By the time they got to three shots, Near was raging, predicting a less than 2% chance that there was any way for him to win. Light kept an eye on the boy, wondering whether it would be a good idea to rid him of the gun before he could calmly and coldly raise it and shoot them all. L and Kit both shot three for three; Light had missed one of the shots and though he was sore about that he had lost interest in the game due to his concern about the teenager.

Two more shots, all on target including Near’s, and they all traded guns.

“It pulls up a little,” L confided to Light quietly as he checked the gun’s mechanism. Light nodded, pointing out in a murmur his concerns about Near.

“I know,” L acknowledged. “This is as much a test for him as anything we’ve done so far.”

“If that test ends in him shooting all of us, I hope you have a plan,” Light grumbled as they moved to take their place in the shoot.

“If yoo're dain whisperin' sweit nothings,” Taren teased the pair. “Th' scores ur close. Nae practice shots wi' these guns.”

Changing weapons did affect the scores. Near’s tendency to fire just a moment too early was countered by the gun’s tendency to pull left in the direction the clays were coming from and his score climbed quickly, but L and Kit were the most competitive, each only missing one of nine.

“It's atween L an' Kit,” Taren reminded the other two, who took their shots even though there was no way for them to win. “If anyain wants tae pit bets oan, now's th' time.”

Light looked to Near questioningly. The young boy shook his head.

“We both know L will win,” he assured. Light shrugged.

It was an awkward journey back to the house with L sulking in the back, knees clutched to his chest as he tried to deduce how exactly he had missed that last, most difficult, shot.

* * *

 

Near took on a dozen files from Watari that evening, needing to win over some criminals to console himself for losing that day. He shut himself away in his room to solve them, leaving the others to visit Mello and Ryuk in the hospital without him.

“Did you bring chocolate?” Ryuk greeted them with, startling Light.

“Don’t you mean apples?”

“No, I mean chocolate,” Ryuk snarled, the expression’s impact lessened by the contorted handstand that the Shinigami was fixed into in the otherwise empty corridor. “Mello _needs_ it.”

“I brought plenty,” Kit assured, patting her bag. “Just make sure the nurses don’t get to it first, people usually don’t bring in so much chocolate unless they mean it to be a gift for the staff.”

“What about your apples?” Light asked Ryuk, astonished that the Shinigami was interested in Mello’s wellbeing before his own and wondering if this whole endeavour would have succeeded if only he had managed to get Ryuk on side.

“Do you have any?” Ryuk asked, his concern for Mello lessened now he knew that the supplies were there.

“A bag full,” Light assured, offering one to him. “Just be careful not to eat them when anyone is watching.”

“I will,” Ryuk devoured three of them in quick succession, very glad to be freed of the withdrawal symptoms. “And if any of the nurses try to eat my Elstar’s chocolate, their name will go in my notebook.”

“Please, don’t,” L frowned at him. “They’re also the only people who will help him, and they won’t do that if they start dying.”

Ryuk huffed but agreed, showing them the way to Mello’s side room.

It was impossible to tell how Mello’s skin was damaged or healing beneath the thick layer of creams that coated one side of this face and neck; one of his eyes was covered with an eye patch, no doubt to stop those creams accidentally being rubbed into it.

“How’s the case?” Mello demanded as soon as they entered. “Have you caught him yet? What’s the plan?”

“How are you?” Light corrected, sitting in a chair beside the bed as L hopped onto it, crouching in his deductive pose.

“I’ll be fine,” Mello prompted. “Tell me about the case.”

“We won’t be making any more moves until you are out of here,” L told him. “Don’t worry, we won’t leave you out.”

“Good, because I’ve been thinking,” Mello told them. “I know Near always says that’s a dangerous thing for me to do, but then he’s Near. This arsonist, he had a panic attack just before the fire started, he looked properly upset – I think he was trying to resist it. I don’t think he’s doing this deliberately.”

“We agree,” L nodded.

“Well, I was thinking that if he doesn’t mean to do this, he isn’t a deliberate murderer, and he definitely doesn’t meet the criteria for using the Note,” Mello told them. “I want to catch him, not kill him. And I think he’s trying to help Kit, not hurt her.”

“Again, we agree,” L confirmed, glancing at the morphine drip besides Mello’s bed. No wonder the child was being obvious; the drugs and the chocolate withdrawal combined would be enough to addle him completely.

“Good,” Mello grinned.

“We borrowed your guns today,” L told him, deciding this addled state was the best time to break the news.

“Oh, which ones?” Mello began before stopping and gawping at L and Light in turn. “The chain’s gone!”

“Yes,” L smiled slightly. “We’re trying an experiment whilst we aren’t working on the case.”

“That’s nice,” Mello slid back onto his pillows, widely grinning. “You make a really sweet odd couple, you know.”

“They kissed today,” Kit told him. “In public. I have photos.”

“Really?” Mello’s grin widened further, his eyes closing. “L and Kira, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g.”

“When will they fix him?” Ryuk demanded, scowling down at his friend.

“He’ll probably discharge himself in a couple of days,” L confirmed. “It’s the drugs that are doing this, then you’ll have the proper Mello back.”

“First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Kira with a baby carriage…”

“To be honest, I’m not convinced this isn’t the normal Mello,” Light mused.

“I know a song that’ll get on your nerves, get on your nerves, get on your nerves, I know a song that’ll get on your nerves…”

“Ryuk,” Kit offered. “Are you sure you want to stay here with him? You could always come back to the house…”

“And this is how it goes! I know a song that’ll get on your nerves…”

“No,” Ryuk growled, “if the creature tries to finish the job I need to see him to get his name.”

“Wouldn’t that kill you?” Light asked, frowning at the Shinigami. Ryuk held his silence, confirming it. “Oh, Ryuk…”

“It won’t come to that,” L assured. “Even like this Mello can look after himself and besides, we don’t think the creature actually wanted him hurt. It was meant to be Jay.”

“But it was my glockenapfel that got hurt,” Ryuk grumbled.

“Get on your nerves, get on your nerves…”

“It won’t happen again,” L promised. “I’ll make sure of it.”

“How often is he making sense?” Light asked, scowling at Mello.

“The machine makes a noise and about ten minutes later he’s like this for about half an hour,” Ryuk explained. “Then it wears off and for about half an hour he complains about the pain and asks for chocolate.”

“Well next time he comes around you will have plenty for him,” Light gestured to the end of the bed, where the stack of chocolate was so high that some had fallen to the floor, unable to balance any further.

“We can’t stay,” L explained. “We can’t risk the creature tracking Kit down whilst we’re here, in case he sets the hospital on fire. It’s unlikely but with all of the oxygen and all the patients that would be difficult to evacuate…”

“I get it,” Ryuk waved away the explanation. “I’ll look after him.”

“Get on your nerves, get on your nerves…”

* * *

 

Back at the house and after they had all eaten and looked through Kit’s photos from the day – L printing the ones of him and Light for good measure, and Kit an additional one of them kissing to show Mello the next day – the group tried to speak with Near. The teen was showing his true age, refusing to answer their knocks on the door.

“Rem,” Kit asked gently. “Could you check on him please? Just make sure he’s okay?”

“Of course,” Rem phased through the wall.

The sound of shattering porcelain immediately echoed against the wall, Rem phasing back through.

“I’d say he’s fine,” Rem told them, sounding less than impressed. “Though he would benefit from a handcuff too.”

Light and L shared a smile.

“We should rest,” Light suggested, deciding things might look better in the morning and desiring a long, hot shower after walking through the countryside mud earlier in the day; he had changed clothes since then but certainly did not feel all that clean.

“Of course,” L shuffled awkwardly. “I… I should show you your room.”

“My room?” Light frowned. He had assumed the cuff would be re-connected to L’s at some point that day, had not expected to be allowed to keep his freedom especially when L was asleep and at his most vulnerable.

“I keep you awake with my computer,” L explained. “You should be able to sleep and have your own space – I’m 95.2% certain you won’t try to abuse it, at least until the case is done and Mello is better.”

“Well… uh, thanks I guess,” Light was very confused and if he were to admit it a little disappointed. It felt like a dismissal, felt like L pushing him away rather than giving him his freedom. When L had started to use affectionate gestures as a way to gain something from him, some sort of control, Light had indulged because it would make L uncomfortable. Now, it seemed that it had worked and L was indeed recoiling from the meagre level of intimacy they had achieved, but Light was not sure he wanted to push L away any more. A part of him had quite enjoyed the potential of the direction things were moving.

Light had to admit, being able to take a long bath and indulge himself in taking the time to soak in his vanilla chai foam scents was something he had missed when cuffed to L; unless they had wanted to be intimately pressed together in the tub, which Light had to admit would have been too awkward. However, the sweetness of the bath scent lingering on his skin made it extremely difficult for him to sleep, forcing him to toss and turn for many hours into the night.

He had quickly become accustomed to L’s presence next to him in the bed, but this felt like more than that. This felt like a physical pull, like someone had replaced the chain that connected them with an elastic cord, pulled as tight at it would go and drawing him back to the detective’s side.

Logic dictated that this was not a part of a normal emotional connection; certainly not a connection as underdeveloped as his and L’s. Therefore, there had to be something drawing them together and to a man as intelligent as Light the answer was obvious; this was the power of the Death Note.

L held control of the Note from him; therefore, any connection with L would influence how much he could use the Note and the Note wanted to be used. He wouldn’t be feeling this way if not for that. The closest equivalent Light could make was that this was some sort of Notebook-orchestrated Stockholm syndrome.

It was clear to Light that L had recognised this before him; that was why L had released him from the chain, evidently concerned about the effect the Note was having. Light wondered if the Note L held was having the same influence on the detective.

The question therefore had to be how would Light feel without the Note’s influence? It seemed like forming a relationship with L would be quite a logical next step given his current circumstances, but that could be the Note clouding his reasoning. He had never felt even a little of the emotion he felt for L for anyone before; it was not a normal part of him, but if he had learned one thing from Near and Mello, it was not a negative part to have.

As the night became morning, Light made his choice.

“Hey,” he murmured as he entered the room he and L had shared since arriving in the UK. L was still awake, reviewing cases on his laptop.

“Why are you here?” L asked, scowling at him.

“I couldn’t sleep,” Light moved across to the bed, taking the laptop from L’s hands and putting it aside.

“You should go back to your room,” L suggested, though there was no weight behind the instruction.

“I should,” Light nodded. “I needed to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

“If it weren’t for the Notebooks,” Light decided to put his cards on the table and allow the chips to fall, “and if it were not for the control it gives you over me, would you be interested in pursuing this?”

“That depends,” L looked suspicious. “What _is_ this?”

“You and me,” Light spelled it out. He was increasingly sure he was learning how to be honest from Mello; with all the bluntness that came with it. “Wherever it may lead us. Would you be interested?”

“Would you?” L asked pointedly.

“If I were Kira, probably not,” Light shrugged as if that were not an issue. “But if I hadn’t been Kira, if I didn’t know about the Notebooks and the Shinigami, then working and living with you would have been something of a fantasy for me.”

“But you are Kira,” L reminded.

“And with that title comes the Notebook, and its influence,” Light acknowledged. “So, whether I would have been interested without the influence of the Notebook is a non-issue. This is a part of me now.”

“Yes,” L spoke quietly. If Light hadn’t known the detective well enough he would have missed the emotion behind it, the fear of being vulnerable. “If the Notebook were not influencing my actions, I think I would have been interested… in time.”

“So really, this would have probably happened anyway somewhere down the line,” Light grinned. “Why fight it?”

“Why indeed,” L leaned in and captured his lips in a gentle kiss. Light indulged him for a moment, then pushed him away.

“No offence, L,” he muttered against the detective’s lips. “But it’s three in the morning, and I need to sleep.”

L laughed, pushing Light down on to the bed and kissing him once again, soundly this time. Light looped his arms round the detective’s back, helpless to argue.

“Sleep well, Kira,” L purred as he moved to wrap his long limbs around the younger man. Light hummed.

“L and Kira, sitting in a tree…” he sang softly, silencing in surprise when L nipped his shoulder with his teeth. “Goodnight, L.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a bit of a light-hearted chapter (no pun intended) I wanted to give them a chance to relax and for L to take the chance on giving Light more freedom out with the situations of the case. If anyone needs a translation of the scots vernacular used by Taren in this, feel free to ask, happy to provide one. I enjoyed putting it together. Also, Ryuk’s pet names for Mello continue to be apple varieties – I had no idea there were so many of those out there.


	13. Trust Exercise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kit helps keep the detectives occupied whilst the case is on hold. Mello discharges himself from the hospital.

“Mello will discharge himself today,” L told them over breakfast. “We need to be prepared for our next steps in the case to take place tomorrow. I suggest we make our arrangements this morning and work on any remaining files that Watari has brought. It won’t be long before this is finished and we need to move on.”

“It’ll be good to go home,” Kit mused, thinking of being able to spend the night in her own bed, with her own things and her own friends… and realised that she would miss the detectives when they left. “Do you think you’ll keep in touch?”

“No,” L was blunt about it, knowing there was no reason to give false hope. “Certainly not regularly, though if a case brings us to Scotland which requires photography skills I would be interested in your assistance, if you would be happy for me to contact you?”

“Yes, of course,” Kit agreed readily. “There are so many more things around here you would enjoy – I’d like to show you, if ever you have a chance?”

“Perhaps,” L agreed. “We have the rest of today. If you had anything in mind?”

“Absolutely,” Kit grinned.

Light and L set themselves up in front of the television whilst Kit spoke with Watari, coming to join them along with Rem once her arrangements were made. Near was left to make the arrangements for the following day, leaving them with the smaller cases whilst Kit watched the television and occasionally chipped in if something caught her interest.

“We will have to send Watari on a search for something more difficult,” L commented as they worked through the fifth easy case of the day. “It wouldn’t do to allow Kira to get bored.”

“I’d worry more about Mello and Near,” Light ran a hand over L’s knee as he reached to turn the page in the file. “I’m pretty well occupied as it is.”

“Other people present,” Kit reminded when L leaned in to kiss Light.

“You can leave if you like,” Light told her, allowing L to kiss him but keeping it modest since Kit – and a strangely interested-looking Rem – were present.

“What about this one?” Kit asked, turning up the volume on the news. The report was showing images of theme parks filled with carefree children, but the reporter was talking about murder. “They’re calling it the Donald Duck murders, or the DD murders for short.”

“That’s a ridiculous name,” Light frowned.

“Presumably after the BB murders,” L scowled. “I’d best send a letter to Beyond, he won’t be happy.”

“Beyond?”

“A story for another day,” L assured them.

“Anyway, I wasn’t talking about ‘the DD murders’, I was talking about the Donald Duck thing,” Light corrected.

“Ah,” Kit nodded, “Mello said that the first victim was the man in the Donald Duck outfit that day.”

“Still, whoever the murderer is, he won’t be impressed,” Light chuckled. “If they’d called me something that stupid I’d probably have killed the one who chose that name.”

“Kira is getting touchy again,” L mused. “You only have one more day to wait before you use the note, hold it together.”

“I’m fine,” Light assured. “That’s me talking, not the Notebook. No one wants to be remembered by such a ridiculous name, not least a serial killer.”

“How many people are dead?”

“I think the report said five,” Kit relayed. “According to the news they have absolutely no leads, and no suspects. It sounds like something that might interest you.”

“As a rule, I don’t take cases where less than ten are dead,” L told her. “I will tell Watari to pull the files, we can have a look at it once this case is done.”

“It would certainly be warmer than Scotland,” Light suggested as he set aside the sixth file, needing only a phone call to the local police to be solved. “We could take Mello and Near – give them a chance to be kids for a change while we deal with the case.”

“They won’t be happy to sit back and let us do the work,” L reminded him. “But between plays… yes, I suppose we could try to convince them.”

“Do you think we’ll be able to convince Near to come out again today?” Kit wondered, remembering how he had reacted to losing the day before.

“Probably not,” L shrugged, “but we can try.”

 

* * *

 

They had not been able to convince Near to come, so they had left him with all of the remaining cases to work through. With only three of them and Rem, this was going to be more difficult than Kit had considered.

“Watari,” Kit greeted as they arrived. “Thank you for arranging this at such short notice.”

“At least it’s safer than shooting,” Watari took in the group present. “I trust you can get yourselves home afterwards? I must go speak with Near.”

“We’ll manage,” Kit smiled. “Are you going to leave us a car?”

“Of course,” Watari nodded. “However, Light has never driven and L… well, trust me, you don’t want him behind the wheel.”

L took his rock candy from his mouth. “Rude.”

“Last time you drove you hit two road signs and a set of traffic lights,” Watari pointed out.

“I _was_ driving at 160 miles per hour in a city centre,” L argued.

“Why, exactly?” Light scowled, hoping that it was for a case.

“We were late,” was L’s explanation.

“L, that’s not okay,” Light scolded.

“We were late _and_ the bakery was about to close?” L tried again.

“Still not okay,” Light and Kit chorused. L huffed, sticking his rock candy back into his mouth.

“I’ll drive,” Kit confirmed to Watari. “Good luck with Near.”

“Who wants to try first?” Kit asked, taking them through to the large empty space surrounded by climbing walls. The entire place was empty; Watari had not wanted there to be a risk of casualties if something went wrong. “We’ll have to climb one at a time, the staff were sent home so we’ll have to spot each other.”

Kit talked them through the process and helped fit them each with a climbing harness. The walls were over fifty feet upwards, some harder to climb than others.

“You’re going to be good at this,” Light told L, certain that regardless of skill his long-fingered grasp, light weight and awareness of his footing from capoeira would serve him well in this. “You should go first.”

“I understand what we’re doing,” Rem commented as they started to connect L to the wires. “I could help you climb, Kit.”

Light and L both looked askance at the Shinigami; she had always stood apart from them. Volunteering to spot Kit was not something that either of them would have predicted.

“I’d like that Rem,” Kit beamed. “Let’s get L climbing first, though?”

Rem nodded, fiddling with the straps and pulleys to work out how to use them.

“Ready?” Light checked, checking the equipment one more time.

“Yes,” L confirmed, doing the same.

“Do you trust me?” Light asked curiously, glancing at the height of the wall. L caught his chin in his long fingers, drawing his eyes to meet L’s own panda eyed gaze.

“You know that I do,” L assured, kissing him.

L was indeed a natural on the climbing wall, scaling it like a monkey would a tree.

“Was that meant to be a challenge?” He asked at the top.

“Now,” Kit told him from around ten feet below, still climbing. “You have to let go.”

“What?”

“You don’t climb down,” she smirked up at him. “You let go, and it’s up to Light to lower you to the ground.”

“That’s madness,” L complained. Trusting Light when he was confident that he was in no real danger was one thing; putting his life into another’s hands, especially Kira’s, when he had no control of the situation? Ridiculous. He might as well just hand Kira the Death Note and tell him his name.

“Oh, just do it,” Kit rolled her eyes, almost at the top now. “He isn’t going to drop you.”

“He’s Kira,” L reminded her.

“Yes, but you’re L. If there’s one person in the world who is actually safe from him, it’s you,” Kit told him confidently. “Besides, he isn’t all that homicidal once you get to know him.”

“Why can’t I just climb down?”

“Drop,” Kit ordered. “Trust him… you both have serious trust issues, that’s why I thought this would be good for you.”

L frowned, his fingers pinching tightly to the grips on the wall. He glanced down, calculating how badly he would be injured if he fell freely over such a distance, considered a moment more, and let go.

The harness held his weight easily as he curled into a mid-air version of his crouch, clutching his legs to his chest and trying to breathe deeply, wishing he had brought some of the candy up the wall with him so that if he was about to die he would at least die with the taste of a sweet in his mouth. His mind was filled with white noise, unable to so much as think.

Slowly he was lowered to ground level, stopping just short of the floor.

“You can stand now,” Light spoke softly, concern in his tone. L opened eyes that he hadn’t realised he had closed to see Kira’s upside-down face looking down at him.

“Is he alright?” Kit asked, rapidly unhooking herself from her harness and rushing to their side.

“Give him some space,” Light suggested. “Hey, L? It’s okay, you’re safe. You need to breathe… take some deep breaths with me. Fuck, L, if I’d known this would happen I’d never have let you climb. You said you trusted me, remember?”

L gradually managed to steady his breathing, releasing his legs from where they were clutched against his chest and allowing gravity to bring him back upright. His feet touched the floor and he flexed his toes into the matting.

“What was all that about?” Light asked once L was sufficiently calm.

“It’s not your fault, Light-Kira,” L sighed heavily, looking older than Light had ever seen him. “All of us who came to Wammy’s house had our problems.”

“And yours is rock climbing?”

“Falling,” L clarified. “Don’t ask me why, I really don’t remember. I don’t mind heights, but the sensation of falling bothers me.”

“I’m sorry,” Light embraced him, L leaning in to his touch.

“You should have a turn,” L suggested after a while and when his hands were no longer shaking.

“You’re sure you’re okay?”

“I am now,” L smiled at him, looking much younger than his years.

Light was a slow climber, preferring accuracy and neatness over clumsy speed. Kit made her way up the wall again with him, keeping in synch with his speed but on a more difficult part of the wall for her second turn.

“Do you trust me, Kira?” L called when Light reached the top. Light looked down at his once-enemy and did not hesitate to push off from the wall.

“That was better,” Kit told them as Light’s feet hit the floor, Rem having lowered her more quickly than L lowered Light.

“All the same,” L looked at the wall, uncomfortable “I’d rather not try that again.”

“You really need to work on your trust issues,” Kit told him, moving to the most difficult wall.

“Ignore her,” Light advised, helping L to remove the harness he still wore. The two of them went to get some sugary treats for L from the vending machines whilst Kit completed her final climb.

“Missed call,” L noted as he collected his phone. “Mello’s out of hospital. Watari’s taking him back to the house now.”

“Think he’ll be okay with Near till we get back?”

“No, so we’d best get a move on,” L returned to collect Kit and they began the journey back to the house.

* * *

 

When they arrived, Mello was sat in the living room, Ryuk curled around him feeding him chocolate. The burned side of his face as closer to the door, the bright red flesh open and sore but covered in a thin, clear layer of something L had described as a silicon compound that he had used in the past to treat open wounds; it had been produced by a different Wammy’s resident before they left their life with the orphanage and set out on their own.

“Ryuk tells me you borrowed my guns yesterday,” Mello greeted them, not turning to face them but letting them look at the burns. “I don’t think I gave you permission.”

“It was my idea,” Kit owned up straight away. “I thought you wouldn’t mind, I took photos…”

“You thought I wouldn’t mind when you borrowed twenty thousand pounds of my prized collection and didn’t even clean them properly afterwards?”

“Well… I didn’t realise they were worth _that_ much,” Kit admitted. “But I’m sure we haven’t done them any harm, and I’m happy to clean them if you show me how.”

“Don’t bother, it’s already done,” Mello glanced up at them. “But you owe me, all of you.”

“Where’s Near?” L asked.

“In his room, sulking,” Mello shrugged. “I’ll save my revenge on him until the case is done, don’t worry.”

L and Light were hardly surprised to find Mello’s conditional statement about not taking revenge on Near did not apply to their use of his guns. Any thoughts either of them may have had about what to do with their somewhat early night that evening went out of the window when they found the room, including every piece of furniture, picture and even the carpet was upside down and attached to the ceiling.

“This is very childish,” Light complained, looking curiously around the room.

“I wonder whether he did your room too?” L wondered; on checking it seemed that he had.

“How did he even… oh. Ryuk,” Light concluded. “Bloody traitor Shinigami.”

“Well, it seems we won’t be sleeping in here tonight,” L looked resigned.

“If they can get it up there we can get it down again,” Light argued.

“Knowing Mello, it’ll be heavily trapped,” L reached up to turn on a tall lamp and a spark flashed, burning the lampshade up quickly. “We won’t be able to get this down without time, bomb disposal equipment or supernatural intervention.”

“You don’t think he’s done Kit’s room too?” Light wondered aloud, suddenly concerned. “She won’t expect the traps…”

The pair rushed down the corridor to Kit’s room, which had indeed been inverted but was already halfway corrected. Kit was re-making her bed whilst Rem disarmed a trap and brought down the dressing table.

“Rem?” Light and L glanced at one another, equally surprised.

“Do you still have your handcuff on, Light Yagami?” the Shinigami asked, moving to diffuse another explosive device. Light rubbed at the cuffed wrist wearily.

“…yes,” he admitted.

“Would you mind letting Ryuk’s pet borrow it for a while?” Rem requested pointedly. Light laughed.

“That would probably be a very bad idea,” he argued. “If you want to get your revenge you’ll have to find another way.”

“A pity,” Rem sniffed. “I will not be helping to right your room then.”

Light looked at Kit, silently pleading with her to intervene.

“Nope,” Kit grinned at him. “You’ll just have to find somewhere else to sleep. Rem, darling, would you mind getting my hairbrush from the drawers near the window?”

The Shinigami collected the implement, disarming a trip wire and crossbow in the process.

“Thanks,” Kit beamed. “Boys, gawping won’t get you anywhere.”

“We’re not…”

“Rem,” L began carefully, “what did Kit promise you to help her get her things down?”

The Shinigami remained silent.

“Nothing, she’s just being really helpful,” Kit scowled.

L and Light glanced at one another, silently communicating their surprise and understanding.

“We’ll be on the sofa if you need us, I guess.”

* * *

 

L curled around Light where they slept on the sofa, careful not to let any of his most bony angles dig in to the younger man, considering his next move.

He had always been avoidant of complex emotion; it made people less predictable, less rational. It rarely caused difficulty in his line of work; few murders were performed by those who felt ambivalently about things, usually any emotion involved was emphatic love or hate. Situations like the one developing within the team were more complicated, messier, less predictable.

Mello and Ryuk were evidently becoming close, in a unique way of their own. The same could now perhaps be said for Rem and Kit – Rem would certainly never have volunteered to help any of the others without promise of some reward. However, both friendships were far less complicated than what he faced with Light.

He had tried to send Light away, tried to loosen the reins and release him from his tight control the day before. It hadn’t worked; Light had made a different choice, one that he had to admit made him extremely happy. It put him in a difficult position, however, since if they were pursuing an actual relationship he was not comfortable with it being forced by the Death Note.

Did he trust Light enough to give him the Notebook back, to place the power back into Kira’s hands for more than a few moments per week? Would Light want to resist the pull of the Note if he thought he could get something out of it, thought he could defeat L once and for all? Would he even try?

L disliked admitting any weakness, and yet that day after climbing the wall he had openly spoken about his fear of falling rather than trying to skirt around it or excuse it as fear that Kira would drop him once he was in the serial killer’s power.

Light didn’t know his name; couldn’t use the Note to kill him if once it was returned the affection gained from its influence dissipated. The risk he would be taking was of the sort he had scolded Near for; he was risking the lives of other innocent people.

If he didn’t do it, he would never be confident that any relationship they had was genuine. If he did, he was being extraordinarily selfish.


	14. Final Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team come together to finish the case. Near seeks to claim the title as L's successor, and L continues to loosen his hold on his control of Light in an attempt to have Light choose the correct path for himself.

“I just want it on record, I really don’t like this plan,” Mello complained as he applied the Wammy’s produced silicon and silver spray to his burns.

“Okay,” Near emotionlessly accepted. He moved his Lego pieces around the coffee table, running through potential events and outcomes.

“We should be trying a completely new approach, the last one was a disaster,” Mello reminded, gesturing to his face.

“It makes you look dangerous,” Ryuk assured him pleasantly, offering him a chocolate covered apple slice. “It suits you.”

“Aww, thanks,” Mello hugged the Shinigami closely; Ryuk, looking momentarily awkward, wrapped his wings around the boy to hide the moment he phased so that Mello’s arms dropped away from around him. “Hey, would you help me spray the bit at the back of my neck?”

“I do not like it either,” Rem, soothing her own concerns with a marmalade sandwich and oranges, advised them.

“I hope you don’t mind…” Kit spoke softly, afraid that she was about to be thoroughly told off, “I’ve asked Rem, if Jay tries anything, to… stop him.”

“I will not be saving her life, and so I can do so without losing my own,” Rem assured before L and Light could argue. “She has many years left to her.”

“So this plan is without risk to her?” L asked, curious how the dates the Shinigami could see would work.

“It is possible to change the pre-determined time of death only with the influence of a God of Death or their Death Note,” Rem explained patiently. “Even the non-human creatures of this world obey that rule. But it is possible for someone to be seriously injured and a Shinigami would not be able to see that danger.”

“Thank you, Rem,” Near spoke, moving his Lego in a different way now, “for threatening Jay and not the team.”

“Understand, _Nate_ , if any harm comes to Kit I will be holding you directly responsible for your plan.”

Near studied her silently, then returned to moving his Lego.

“It won’t come to that,” L assured. He had allowed Light to make his breakfast that morning, after spotting that Kira was making pancakes, and was about halfway through a tall stack layered with ice cream, honey and fresh fruits. Light had already reminded him that he would have to change his white top, which was stained by drips from his careless eating. It would be no mean feat with the furniture still on the ceiling and ready to trigger miniature explosives. “We’re not taking any chances. Mello, you will be armed as usual, and we will be ready outside. Light, with you and I freed from the chain it would be simple for us to move in if we need to as well, although I expect you will be equally useful in the van with a bit of facial recognition software.”

Light made the connection instantly, frowning at L.

“Facial recognition?” he considered. “You intend to take the Death Note with us?”

“Better,” L pulled the book out of the front of his shirt, rumpled from the uncareful treatment. “ _You_ will take it with us. _After_ you’ve used it. It’s been seven days, you need to use it first so that the withdrawals don’t push you into it later.”

“Again, not an addict,” Light scowled, but took the book. He clicked a pen from his pocket, holding it poised over the page. “Do you have a case in mind?”

“You know the ones we’ve reviewed this week,” L offered, “It’s your choice.”

Light was surprised; L handing over the Note was surprising enough in itself, but he had half expected it, since their conversation about the effect the book was having on their strangely developing relationship. Being given freedom to make his own decision on who he would use it on was another step to giving him some freedom back, earlier than he expected.

He considered; they had dealt with a lot of red cases that week, some of which had indeed met L’s criteria. He easily put pen to paper and wrote one of the names, experiencing the relief that followed. He suppressed a sudden urge to kiss L; recognising it came from the Note and not from him, perhaps its version of rewarding the detective for allowing it to be used.

He clicked the pen, resisting the pull of the names from other cases they had solved that week.

“Kit, I have a confession to make,” L admitted quietly, so that Light couldn’t hear him. “I cannot be 100% certain that leaving the Note with Kira today will be safe for you. He needs a name and a face to kill, and the only people who will be there today that he knows a name for will be you and Jaecar. If Jay is killed, and Kira loses control to the Death Note, it is entirely possible that he will target you as part of a plan to destroy or at least escape from the rest of the team.”

“Well that’s reassuring,” Kit frowned at him. “For everything you’ve said over the last few days, you really don’t trust him, do you?”

“Lying is a language that is taught early at Wammy’s,” L confirmed. “Kira also speaks it fluently.”

“Then this – today – it’s a test for him, too?”

“Yes, I’m afraid so,” L nodded sadly.

“And if he fails?” Kit asked. “What then?”

“Then, depending on how badly he fails, I also have a Notebook,” L admitted softly.

“You’d kill him?”

“If I have to.”

“I thought Near was the cold hearted one,” Kit shook her head, initially disgusted, but as they continued to prepare for the day her disgust faded into a grudging sort of respect. That L would even think to take on such a burden when it was clear that his affection for Light was growing so deeply through him, for the sake of all the world. Of course, he had to do this now; if the roots grew any further and Kira were to turn on them, surely he would be unable to take action even as the world burned and bowed before a new God.

“There is one more piece of information you should all be aware of before we go,” L told them all as they were about ready. He had taken up his perch on his chair, having convinced Ryuk to get him a new, clean white top with a bribe of a new variety of apples the Shinigami had not yet tried, and was waiting for the others. “In my research of myths and legends related to the creature, there is one that fits most closely to the profile of our suspect. As the legends are just that, we cannot be sure of what abilities the creature may or may not have; therefore, it would be pointless to detail all possibilities. Be on guard for anything.”

“What is it?” Light asked curiously. He had been watching over L’s shoulder for some of the research he had been doing, but even with the potential connection to the case it had not held his interest at 4am that morning when L had been perched on the chair whilst Light still tried to sleep on the sofa.

“I believe our creature is likely to be Kitsune,” L explained. “It is the obvious choice; it is a creature that originates in Japan, can turn from human to fox, and if the legends are to be believed it can cause fires, can be invisible and can fly. Different legends speak of Kitsune with different personalities and abilities, but a common theme appears to be Kitsune turning into humans and finding mates when they come of age. Until that point they are indistinguishable from regular foxes.”

“So, if this is a Kitsune, and it’s following me, we can assume it thinks I’m its mate?” Kit sounded less than pleased.

“As archaic as the concept is, yes,” L confirmed. “It would explain why it appears to be obsessed with you and why it has been attacking Jay for hurting you.”

“If it could fly, it wouldn’t have trailed us at ground level the second day, when it knew I could hear it,” Mello reasoned. “I think we can take that off the list of its abilities – perhaps it can just jump over much longer distances than expected?”

“Do not put too much stock in the abilities,” L agreed, “but from the research I have done, I would suggest an 83% probability of the creature being Kitsune.”

“Is there anything else important in the legends?”

“Only that Kitsune appear to be extremely loyal partners, and are almost exclusively mischievous,” L explained. “I doubt it is so superficial that your name would have attracted it, Kit, but it may have unfortunately been the thing that brought its attention onto you in that first bar in Japan.”

“And unless we catch it, it will follow me forever?”

“Without Jay around to hurt you I doubt it would be any threat to you,” L reassured. “But yes, I think so.”

“It’s not even human,” Kit’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“Human enough, that’s what Ryuk called it,” L assured her. “But, it’s up to you what you want to do. Today is about getting its attention and securing a meeting with it, for sentencing purposes of course, but a large part of that might be your opinion. You are a part of the team too.”

“No, I’m not,” Kit scowled, considering the world’s greatest detective and his brilliant, if sociopathic partner, the brave and bold young boy who ran head on into any situation without fear or stupidity, and the child genius. She didn’t fit in with these people; she was ordinary.

“You will never be ordinary, Katherine-Chan,” L assured her. Kit was certain she had not spoken her thought aloud.

“L?” Mello called impatiently from the doorway. “We’re ready to go.”

* * *

 

The large open space in the shop showed its dual purpose; coffee and snack bar during the day, dance club at night. In the middle of the day the space was underfilled, the scattered tables mainly unoccupied.

“Kit, you go in first,” L reminded as Kit hesitated in the van. Mello was already inside, positioned close to the fire exit; Ryuk, focused on not allowing his favourite human to be hurt again, covered the main entrance; the view on the cameras was rather disconcerting as anyone who entered or left the shop walked through his phased body.

“We’re early,” she reminded him.

“Deliberately so,” Near told her from his perch on the floor with his Lego figures. “Do not waste time.”

Kit took a deep breath, focusing on regaining the poise and elegance that she showed as her presentation to the public, and moved into the shop.

“We have twenty minutes,” L reminded Light, who was a little restless, clicking the lid of his pen. The Death Note rested on the table in front of him, set aside but definitely not discarded.

“Mello saw his face,” Light reminded them. “If the Kitsune can be invisible in human form it would make sense for him to be invisible now.”

“Of course, it would,” L agreed. “We don’t know if it can be invisible to Ryuk’s eyes, and Mello is good enough to spot it even if it is – all it would take is a movement of a chair cushion, a shadow where there shouldn’t be.”

“The plan will work,” Near assured.

Kit sipped at a coffee, flicking through a magazine whilst she waited. Beneath the table her foot tapped, betraying her nervousness.

“He’s not here,” Mello confirmed to them ten minutes in.

“Step two,” Near responded back through the earpiece. Mello gave a discreet nod, preparing to move when step three of the plan arrived most unexpectedly (2%) early.

It was Jaecar; stood in the entrance so that his body was disconcertingly fused with Ryuk’s to those who could see him, the man had his hood pulled far over his face so that it could not be caught on the cameras. If Kit had not reacted so strongly to his entrance even the detectives might have missed that it was him; however, Mello was not fooled.

“In the script, Near?” he asked.

“There was always a small probability,” Near fed back. “Rem, if he makes any move to hurt Kit, are you ready?”

Rem, who already had her Death Note in her hands, practically beamed at the child – or at least, her eye lit up, which for Rem was much the same thing. “Of course.”

“Mello,” Near instructed, taking the opportunity while Jay surveyed the shop, looking for Mello. He would not spot him; Mello had covered the silicon cream with foundation and was dressed once again as a female; he was entirely unrecognisable as the boy Jay had seen the last time. “When Jay moves to Kit, stay back but let it be seen that you are watching her. If the creature is watching, we need him to know that you are protecting her; it will help us to gain his confidence.”

“You just want me to watch and do nothing?”

“Have your gun ready if you like,” Near was not bothered; it wouldn’t affect the outcome.

“He’s here,” Mello realised, startling as the human form of the creature seemed to materialise at a table not that far beyond Kit; there was something about the creature that made Mello instantly want to look away and forget that he had just appeared out of nowhere.

“I see him,” Near confirmed. “See if you can talk to him.”

“What about Kit?”

“Believe me, Rem and Kira have her well covered,” Near’s voice held perhaps a hint of delight.

“…Alright,” Mello rose from the table and, never one to sneak around, approached the blonde male. “Is this seat available?”

“If you must,” the creature studied him briefly before turning his focus back to Kit.

“Get him on side,” Near instructed. “Don’t look round, Kit’s not your concern.”

“You’ve gone to great lengths to protect her,” Mello commented, taking the creature’s coffee cup and sipping. It wasn’t a mocha; he placed it back on the saucer, disappointed.

“You seek to protect her too,” the creature looked briefly at him. “Why?”

“Originally, we thought she may be the target of the fires,” Mello told him honestly. “Now, we know that isn’t the case.”

“I would never hurt her,” the creature frowned, naively open and expressive.

“We can see that now,” Mello assured. “And defence of an innocent is a fairly good defence in court; being unable to control the fires would be an even better one.”

“You’re with the police?”

“Not at all. I’m with L,” Mello dropped the name and the creature’s attention was finally caught. “So, you’ve heard of him?”

“I’m from Japan,” he confirmed, “of course I’ve heard of him. I’ve also heard the rumours that he’s working with Kira now.”

“More accurately, Kira is working with him,” Mello corrected. “Before you ask, no, it’s not me. Kira’s a bit older and I’m definitely prettier.”

Mello flicked some of the hair from his injured side of his face, some of which had been covering the burn wound on his neck where he had not covered it with foundation. The creature winced.

“That fire was meant for Jaecar Donovan, not you,” he sounded genuinely regretful; Mello could detect the honesty in it too. He considered it a point in the creature’s favour.

“Look, I’m going to level with you,” Mello leaned in conspiratorially. “There is a good chance for you to get off very lightly for the fires, the deaths. Our team – specifically L – have been given the opportunity to sentence you as well as catch you for causing the fires. We’re willing to open negotiations, rather than sending you to prison forever more, if you’re willing to cooperate with us.”

“I can’t,” the creature sighed. “I’d like to… I didn’t mean to hurt anyone, I should be punished for that, but… whilst that man over there lives he won’t leave Kit alone. He has his claws in and no matter how many times she calls the police on him he always comes back. She’s only ever safe if she does exactly what he says at all times, and she’s terrified of him. It’s no way to live.”

“And she’s meant to be yours?” Mello asked.

“Yes… no…” the creature grimaced. “How much do you know?”

“I know you’re a Kitsune,” Mello postulated. The creature’s lack of reply confirmed it. “I know you wouldn’t have any interest in her if you didn’t think she was your mate.”

“I suppose that is true,” he agreed. “But you make it sound like I’m going to stalk her forever more. I know it may not look that way to you just now, what with recent events, but I’m not that sort of man. If she isn’t interested, I’ll let her go her own way. She deserves to be happy… I’m not saying I don’t want her to find that happiness with me, but I’d never force her to do something she doesn’t want to do. I can’t leave her be just now – she would be in danger.”

“That’s… enlightened of you,” Mello was surprised.

“Hey, I’m a city fox, grown up in Tokyo half my life,” the kitsune grinned broadly. “You pick up these things.”

“Well then, this could all work out very well for everyone,” Mello suggested. “We would like to meet with you tomorrow to discuss how we close this case. There will be no more fires, and we can guarantee Kit will not be at risk.”

“You’ve put her at risk right now to draw me here,” the kitsune complained. “Look at them.”

Mello turned as subtly as he could, paying attention to Jay and Kit for the first time in several minutes. It seemed it was a good thing his back was to them for so long; what he saw would have broken his focus.

Jay had hold of Kit’s hands in one of his beneath the table, restraining her in her seat whilst he coldly questioned her, most likely about what was happening with fires and who was following her. His other hand was in his pocket, and Mello frowned, talking for his ear piece.

“Near, do you see what I think I see?” he asked softly. The glint of a knife shifted, prepared.

“Yes,” Near confirmed. “We will act before he manages to cut her – it would be useful if you use this as a bargaining chip with the kitsune. It is already written.”

“Kit will not be in danger,” Mello told the creature. “If we prove to you that she will never be harmed by Jay again, will you come to us tomorrow to discuss your sentencing? Will you hand yourself in?”

“If it means she will be safe,” the kitsune did not take his focus off the knife. “Then, yes, I give you my word.”

Everything happened at once. Jay snatched the knife out of his hoodie; Kit screamed, throwing herself backward, the chair clattering down. Rem appeared behind her, supporting her to keep her balance and move away. Ryuk shot forwards, placing himself between Jay and Mello, and Jay stepped forwards to attack Kit, tripping over a table leg and falling, the knife between him and the floor, burying to the hilt into this chest.

It wasn’t like in the movies. Stab wounds to the chest were not the quick way to die that was portrayed there; Jay gasped and choked for breath, thrashing as the cavity of his collapsed lung filled with blood from where his heart, only slightly lacerated, was trying desperately to pump it around his body to keep him alive.

“Someone call an ambulance!”

“Someone call the police!” one of the customers shouted. Several were already on their phones. That was L’s cue to come slouching in, several local officers at his back.

“That won’t be necessary,” he spoke calmly. Though the man was dying, L crouched down over Jay in his favourite deductive pose, blood pouring over L’s white trainers, stuffed into the shoes without socks. “Jaecar Donovan, you are charged with domestic abuse, assault, multiple murders, arson and being a truly vile, repulsive person. That last one won’t stand up in court, but you have already had your trial. This is your conviction.”

The last sentences were spoken quietly enough that in the commotion, no one could identify them. L straightened, as much as he ever did, allowing the police to move in and attempt to stem the blood flow from Jay’s chest. The knife was plugging the wound; keeping him alive a little longer, but it would be in vain, L knew. Once a name was written in the Death Note, the person would die. Rem was simply a particularly cruel Shinigami. Jay would die slowly and in full awareness of the inevitability of his fate.

Mello nodded to L, looking round to the kitsune.

“You will meet us at noon tomorrow,” Mello requested. “Trace Kit and you will find us.”

“Thank you,” the creature looked like he may well vomit at the sight of Jay slowly dying in front of him, but he could not bring himself to look away. This is what he had wanted, after all.

“Congratulations, Near,” Mello spoke softly as he walked away, allowing the police to urge him out with the other bystanders to the crime. “You pulled it off this time.”

“I always was number one at Wammy’s,” the young boy reminded him. “You missed a vital piece of information, Mello.”

“What?”

“You should have got his name.”

“He knows Kira is working with us,” Mello scowled at Near as he stepped elegantly into the van, gathering his outfit’s skirts to not get them caught in the door. “If he had any common sense at all he wouldn’t give it to me and I would lose his trust by asking.”

“If he doesn’t turn up tomorrow we need to eliminate him,” Near spoke bluntly. After all that he’d seen that day, Mello’s temper flared.

“He wasn’t doing anything you wouldn’t do,” he spat. “All those deaths – collateral damage, Near. He was trying to protect her, just like we were.”

“No,” Near wasn’t moved. “We were working to solve the case; Kit’s safety was a side effect.”

“You know Near,” Mello took out his gun, turning it over in his hands. The movement was comforting, though some chocolate would have been much more soothing. “Kira was wrong; L isn’t the arsehole, you are.”

“I have never pretended to be otherwise,” Near shrugged, impassive as always.

“Even Kit managed to be part of the team,” Mello pointed out, “but you just keep yourself so far apart from everyone else.”

“I have always prepared to work alone, with just Roger to support me,” Near reminded him. “Team working was never on the Wammy’s curriculum.”

“You need to learn,” Mello told him. “L’s not going anywhere, not with Kira at his side and a team behind him. We’ve trained to be his successors, but we could be waiting for a very long time.”

“Then perhaps we should set out on our own,” Near suggested. “You and I would make a better team than L and Kira, we could take the title of the world’s greatest detective. It wouldn’t even be hard.”

“This doesn’t have to be a competition,” Mello shook his head. “We’re stronger as a team. You’re being childish.”

“And you’re so grown up?” Near laughed, the mask broken. “You glued the furniture to the ceiling yesterday and you think you can lecture me on how childish I am?”

“L is childish too,” Mello agreed. “But there is a time and a place. I think I’m learning that. Are you?”

“It isn’t childish to want to win,” Near corrected. “And I will win, Mello, with or without you.”

“Then it will be without me,” Mello confirmed.

* * *

 

“The case is finished,” Near broached once they were all gathered back at the house.

“Almost,” L agreed.

“No,” Near shook his head. “It is finished. It is solved. The culprit is found and caught; he will come tomorrow, and he will be sentenced. The detecting part is over. The rest of the job isn’t your part, L, no matter how much you’ve inflated your head with having made Kira your pet attack dog.”

“Say that again?” Light suggested, his eyes narrowing.

“Then consider it finished,” L shrugged, impassive.

“Watari told us that when the case was finished you would name your successor,” Near informed him. “So, who is it going to be?”

“Do you really want to push this now?” L asked, a warning to the young boy.

“Neither of us are ready,” Mello chipped in, sitting up from his indecent slouch in his chair. “He doesn’t have to choose now, Near. We need more time…”

“His decision is made,” Near confirmed, waiting for L’s response.

“I would rather it be both of you, working together,” L explained. “You balance each other out – together, you would be unstoppable.”

“We have never been trained to work together.”

“Near,” L warned. “Do not push this. If I have to choose, you might not like the answer.”

“That’s what I thought,” Near nodded, touching a single fingertip to his Tarot card stack, letting it come tumbling down to the floor from the height of the ceiling. Gathering up the cards with a singular smooth sweep, he set down the Justice card at L’s feet, upside down.

“Near…” L began, but the boy was already leaving the room, closing the door behind him. L pinched the card at the corner between two fingers, studying it wordlessly.

“What does it mean?” Kit asked when the silence dragged on.

“Upside down like this, bias and obstruction of the law,” L explained softly.

“He’s wrong,” Light pointed out to L.

“I know,” L closed his panda eyes, shaking his head. “Mello, could you try to talk to him?”

“We spoke earlier,” Mello admitted. “I’m sorry, L, there’s nothing I can do.”

L winced, picking up his phone and dialling.

“Watari? No, we have plenty of cake… no, I’m fine… no, I’m not being controlled by the Notebook…” L held the phone away from his face. “Light, tell him we actually do have plenty of cake, he doesn’t believe me.”

Light took the phone, reassuring Watari that L was indeed safe and in fact was not in need of any more cake, as they had collected some on the way back to the house. Watari pointed out that L never refused more cake and it was one of their code phrases that something was wrong, and L would need immediate assistance.

“I suppose there is something wrong, but L’s fine,” Light promised. “I’ll put him back on the phone.”

“Yes, Watari… no, I’m not letting you speak to Near as well… no, it’s because Near is the problem. Watari, he’s not going to stay here much longer. I need you to call Roger, make sure he gets back to Wammy’s safely… no, he hasn’t done anything wrong, he demanded that I choose a successor and he lost… yes, I know we had thought otherwise…” he covered the receiver, “no offence Mello.”

“None taken,” Mello waved a hand dismissively, the bright red nail polish still adorning his manicured fingers.

“Yes, he is welcome to stay with the team if he chooses, but he won’t… thank you, Watari.”

“I’ll miss him,” Mello admitted freely.

“I won’t,” Ryuk was equally as blunt. “That kid was about as much fun as a slug.”

“He’s my friend,” Mello reminded the Shinigami.

“He’s about as much fun as a slug who also happens to be your friend,” Ryuk corrected.

L stood from his chair, moving to the door. Light watched him go, hesitating to follow, wondering if the detective would need some space.

“Ryuk, would you change L and Light’s room back?” Mello requested. The Shinigami paused in the act of putting an apple in his mouth, sensing the tone of the room, and set the apple back down, going to fulfil the request.

“Should I go after him?” Light asked the others, unsure himself and genuinely needing their opinion.

“Once the room is fixed,” Mello suggested. “To L, this won’t be a small loss. For a very long time he was very hopeful that Near would be perfect as his successor. I was always the black sheep. L acts like he doesn’t care about anyone, but he’s always had a soft spot for the kids at Wammy’s to those who know where to look for it.”

Light nodded. Whilst he was waiting he checked that the Death Note was still in his inside pocket. Losing Near would be a blow to L, but he had never been entirely comfortable with the boy and had a genuine, niggling worry about how the pale child would act if ever he had the power to do anything to influence the world. He wouldn’t put it past him to try to steal the Note, either.

* * *

 

“Hey,” Light greeted softly, the word entirely inadequate. L was in his usual perching pose, but laid down on the bed, his legs clutched to his chest. Laid on his side like this, the pose was transformed into a tight, defensive foetal position. The Tarot card was laid on the pillow beside his face. Light reached out to pick it up but was stopped by L’s hand.

“Don’t.”

“You’re torturing yourself,” Light pointed out, removing the hand and then the card. He set it aside onto the bedside table, entwining his fingers with L’s.

“All Near ever wanted was to be like me,” L muttered. “It was the same with Beyond. What does that say about me? I break people, Light.”

“No, you don’t,” Light assured. “You’re just you. You’re unique, L, there will never be another person like you.”

“There has to be,” L sighed. “There always has to be an L. I won’t live forever, Wammy’s will have to replace me eventually. I’m not sure that they shouldn’t be replacing me now. I’m compromised.”

“You are still L,” Light reminded him. “My being here doesn’t change that.”

“Not just by you,” L confessed.

“It doesn’t matter,” Light reasoned. “You’re still L.”

“Light,” L stopped him. “Kira… I can’t do this anymore. I can’t be L, I can’t stand for Justice and the law and still be a killer.”

“You aren’t a killer,” Light assured. “That’s me… not you, and if that’s too much, we can talk, we can work something out.”

“You would stop for me?” L asked curiously.

“I’m not saying that,” Light admitted. “But you don’t have the be involved at all. It doesn’t have to be our cases… I could…”

“That isn’t the problem, Kira,” L sighed heavily. “It’s still me. I _am_ a killer.”

“No…”

“Yes,” L uncurled himself slowly, opening a safe in the wall above the bed that Light hadn’t even noticed concealed there. He pulled out the second Death Note, tossing it onto the bed where he had been laid. He curled up again, perched this time.

Light frowned, opening the book and taking in the last three names.

“When?”

“The first was about a month into your imprisonment,” L confessed. “I didn’t even realise I was doing it at the time, not really. I was thinking about the case and the Note was there and…”

“I understand,” Light nodded. Of course, he was the only one that could fully appreciate the pull that the Note could have.

“The second about a month later. I knew what I was doing that time; it was an awful case and I couldn’t prove that the real culprit did it, and I had to stop them,” L explained. “Is it worse that I don’t even feel guilty for that one?”

“No,” Light assured him. “It was Justice, beyond the law perhaps but you saved lives.”

“The third was a week ago,” L admitted.

“I was handcuffed to you? How did I not see that?”

“When you used your Note, I had Watari put this one amongst my papers,” L sighed. “It was the Iranian case.”

“We both agreed that man deserved to die,” Light reminded him.

“Not by my hand,” L spoke with a note of finality. Light was silent for a long time.

“There is a way…” he began, but paused. “L, can you give me some time? I think I can fix this, not reverse it, but stop it ever happening again. Do you trust me?”

L studied him with curious eyes. "Kira... I think I do."


	15. Sentencing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team discuss sentencing and meet with the surrendered Kitsune; Light makes arrangements to suit multiple purposes, as usual (including several not explained in the chapter, also as usual)

“We need to discuss what sentence we will offer the kitsune,” were the first words L spoke the next day, having ignored all attempts from Light to get him to engage in conversation until they were all sat around the breakfast table, Near conspicuously absent.

“Not death,” Kit opened with, glancing at the notebook that rested on the table beside Light; it hadn’t been separated from him by more than 6 feet since L gave it back to him.

“I agree,” Light assured her. “That’s not even on the table.”

“We have plenty of options beyond that,” L agreed. “He has killed people, but I do not honestly believe that was intentional, which would make it manslaughter at most.”

“A tragic accident,” Mello argued. “I don’t believe he could control the fires at all, at least to begin with.”

“The ring of fire would argue against that,” L pointed out.

“If he could have done that, he would have trapped Jay the very first time he started the fire, and he wouldn’t have set any of the fires after Jay had left,” Mello reasoned. “His control has grown over time.”

“If it is accidental, in this country the sentence wouldn’t be very long in prison,” Light noted. “We could offer the same as the courts would.”

“He is a fox,” L frowned. “If he decided he wanted to break out of prison I expect that he can.”

“He is a fox,” Kit considered steadily. “Could he be kept that way? As a fox, I mean?”

“We would have to see how he transforms,” L considered. “If he physically grows and shrinks then there should be a way to bind him in fox form; all it would take would be something too small for him to transform back – metal cuff, fox sized, or a collar.”

“Then he could be kept in a different sort of prison,” Kit considered. “He could be kept in a zoo somewhere maybe?”

“I do like the way you think,” Rem praised from the corner.

“That would perhaps be crueller,” L acknowledged, “but it does give me another idea…”

 

* * *

 

The water rushed down the shallow waterfall at Dollar Glen, the picturesque location perfectly suited to Kit’s photography, but that was not their purpose on that day. They stood in the shadows of the trees below Castle Gloom, hidden away from the world.

Kit had suggested it as a location Watari would easily be able to restrict access to; the one steep path that tracked through the area could be blocked at the bottom the night before to ensure that no one would disturb their meeting.

Mello had his gun ready, though he honestly did not expect to need to use it. It wouldn’t put off the kitsune from joining them since they had already learned that it wouldn’t kill him. L and Light stood either side of Kit, the Shinigami at each of their backs, looking for all purposes like a battle formation.

“That’s time,” Mello told them, checking his watch.

Directly ahead of them a bush shifted, parting to reveal a fox. The small creature would have looked perfectly normal were it not for its fur, which was more blonde than red. It crawled forward, its eyes on Kit and its belly close to the ground.

“Do kitsune not have multiple tails?” L asked curiously. The fox stopped, regarding him warily, but shook out its fur and two more tails sprouted, rapidly filling out with fur. L awaited more; his research had listed up to nine tails being present with age, but no more grew. “You are really rather young for your kind, aren’t you?”

The fox dipped its head in a small nod. It had paused when L had started talking but now began to creep closer again, stopping about six feet away and turning to bare its belly to Kit.

“If you’re trying to make me think you’re cute, it won’t work,” she scolded. “I know you’re part human. I’m not going to give you a belly rub.”

“I believe it might be a gesture of submission,” L explained. “We know he thinks you are his mate…”

“A submissive man,” Kit’s lips twitched towards a grin. “That would be a change of pace.”

The kitsune’s ears pricked, though it stayed down.

“I’m really not going to pet you,” Kit told it, determined. “We need to speak with the man not the fox. Change.”

The fox got to its feet, remaining low to the ground, and moved to go into the trees.

“No,” Kit stopped it. “Change here, where we can see. Don’t go invisible.”

The fox regarded her, tilting its head as it did so. Its ears lay flat against its neck, looking up at her with big, pleading eyes.

“No,” she refused. “Change here, now. Please.”

Slowly, the fox pulled into a sitting position and began to shift.

The process appeared to be entirely painless and was swift, but not equal. Legs grew longer and knees reversed, arms extending also before the body began to grow, the head growing to engulf the muzzle rather than the muzzle sinking into the face. A handful of seconds, and the clothing began to form from the fur covering of the body, which remained to the last part of the transformation.

Still in a mimic of a fox’s sitting pose, the man looked up at Kit.

“Hello,” he greeted softly, sounding somewhat over-awed. Kit studied him impassively. “I’m Koinu.”

“Thank you,” she inclined her head to him. “For changing, and for protecting me with Jay.”

“Anything you ask, I will gladly do,” the fox-man swore, standing. His movements were smooth and steady so as not to startle. Stood at his full height he was still only about five feet six, small and thin like his fox shape. Even like this, changed back human, his tails remained, enlarged with his form.

“Even if I tell you to leave me alone?”

“Then I will be sad,” the kitsune acknowledged. “But I will not force anything. Hey, I’m going to be going to prison anyway if I survive this meeting, so you won’t have anything to worry about.”

“You don’t seem very upset about that?”

“Kitsune live for a very long time,” he told her honestly. “One day I will have my freedom again, and no matter what happens, you’re safe.”

“How old are you?” Kit wondered.

“I was born in 1937,” the man, who did not look very much older than 20, told her.

“That’s a very long life for a fox.”

“We live much longer,” he smiled slightly. “If we stay as a fox, anyway. Every day we are human is a day we age. If I stay human, I age as quickly as you do. If I’m a fox I don’t age at all until I get my ninth tail. I get two tails every fifty years, and start with one.”

“So, you can live about two hundred and fifty years?”

“Yes.”

“But if you become human you only live as long as the rest of us?”

“That is also correct.”

“But you mate with humans?”

“A singular human,” the kitsune pointed out. “It’s a once in a lifetime thing. Not… not that I mean… I wouldn’t pressure you… I…”

“It’s okay,” Kit reassured him as he became flustered, looking very much like he wanted to run and hide in the bushes. “I’m enjoying having someone speak honestly to me for a change. Don’t worry about offending me – just keep being honest, and I’ll remember you aren’t trying to upset me or make me uncomfortable. It’s helping your case, trust me.”

“I do trust you… Thank you,” the fox took a deep breath, steeling himself. “Kitsune mate for life – once we choose a mate that instinct never goes away and never goes on to someone else. I connected to you the first time I touched you – it was just your hand, I was trying to help you get away after that man… after he hurt you. In Japan.”

“Was it your choice? Deciding that I’d be your mate?”

“Not at all,” the kitsune admitted, “and at the same time, absolutely. I’m not exactly human, Katherine, I’m at least mostly fox and I’m a creature of instinct; if my instincts tell me something I listen to them.”

“What were you?” Kit wondered. “When you were born?”

“I was born human,” he explained. “A lot of my kind never make the first change; it usually happens with extremes of emotion. Mine was fear.”

“What made you so afraid you changed into a fox? How long have you been a fox?”

“Well,” he steeled himself against the memories. “I was about eight, I think. It was 1945, and I was playing with some friends when we heard it… and saw the cloud.”

“Hiroshima or Nagasaki?” L interrupted. The kitsune startled, as if he had forgotten that the others were there, eclipsed by the conversation with Kit.

“Hiroshima,” he identified. “My family were in the city. When I saw the cloud, I knew they were gone, and I changed.”

“What happened then?”

“I ran,” he admitted. “I ran and I kept running, and I forgot who I was and where I came from. I couldn’t change back, not until I got my next two tails.”

“And then you lived as a human again?”

“Twelve years,” he agreed. “In the day time anyway. I made my way in the world. It wasn’t easy, integrating into the new world, but I managed. And then I saw you, and all of this happened.”

“I’m sorry,” Kit apologised, thinking of how drastically she had affected his life without even knowing it.

“It’s not your fault,” he told her. “And I would do it again a thousand times over, if it meant you would be safe.”

Kit gawped at him, unsure what to say.

“We have been discussing your sentence,” Light saved her from having to continue. “And it’s Kit’s choice. Kit, one, two or three?”

“Three, I think,” Kit didn’t hesitate, but did look to L for confirmation. L drew some small metal bands from his pocket, offering them to her.

“You are being charged and tried for homicides and for stalking,” L explained. “The mitigating circumstances have been taken into account, and the victim impact has been considered. Your sentence, if you accept it, will be to be bound as a fox in care of Katherine Gray. You will wear these bands on your wrists – front paws – until such time as Ms Gray decides that you are to be permitted your freedom. Ms Gray shall maintain contact with our team regarding your progress and will be given permission to decide when you should be freed, provided you serve a minimum term of thirteen months, one for each homicide. She has the right to extend this indefinitely if she chooses.”

“It seems a very short sentence for homicide,” Koinu’s mouth was dry, hardly daring to hope. “And to be around Kit, in either form, will not be a punishment at all.”

“L’s trying his hardest to teach me mercy,” Light smiled at the fox. Indeed, Light had debated the same with L the night before; L had favoured this option, pointing out that they had also ended up killing to protect Kit and so could hardly hold the moral high ground.

“You’re Kira,” he flinched back a little, studying the youth warily. His tails twitched, sparking slightly within the fur.

“He won’t hurt you,” Kit reassured. “He’s surprisingly nice…”

“For a serial killer?”

“As a person,” Kit corrected.

“Do you trust him?”

“With my life,” Kit suddenly scowled. “Literally, I guess. He only needs a name and a face to kill someone; he could have done that before we even met, but he hasn’t and he won’t.”

“If you trust him, then I do too,” Koinu agreed easily, his tails resting.

“What about your sentence?” Light asked. “Do you accept?”

“Yes. Must we start now? I would very much like to have some more time to speak with Kit first.”

“You will get to know her very well through the next thirteen months,” L assured. “But this must start now.”

Koinu nodded, dropping into his crouch and shifting, his body drawing into itself and the fur filling out, covering him as he changed.

“Kit, if you would,” L held out the metal bands. Kit moved forward to the fox, which rolled again to show its belly, and clipped the two cuffs around the equivalent of its wrists. “These have a special feature. Kit will have an activation device which can make the cuffs give you an electric shock. If necessary she can change the setting until it is strong enough to entirely disable you. The cuffs also activate on full power if they detect the heat signature from your flames.”

The fox nodded, moving back into a crouch before Kit. Hesitantly, she reached out and scratched behind his ear, the temptation of the large pleading puppy dog eyes getting too much for her to bear.

“Kit,” Mello grinned at her, offering a hand to help her up. “It’s about time we get you home.”

 

* * *

 

It didn’t take Kit very long to pack up her things with Rem and a very enthusiastic, but rather clumsy fox helping her. Koinu had travelled curled up in Kit’s lap, his chin resting on her knee, making soft little noises in his sleep for the entire journey. Kit had indeed caved in and spent much of the journey petting the fox’s fur as it dozed. It tried to repay her when they got back to the house, fetching and carrying whatever items it could in its teeth, leaping from surface to surface to move them to her suitcase but knocking off several ornaments in the process and at one point setting off an unexploded trap from Mello; fortunately, its fire proof fur protected it from the blast, which Rem put out by smothering it with her wings like a fire blanket.

“You know Rem,” Kit commented as they were taking the packed bags through to the sitting room, which looked quite bare without Near’s Tarot card towers. “I think I’m going to miss you the most.”

The Shinigami was not the most expressive creature Kit had ever known, but in this case her expression said more than any words. There was pain there, sorrow and loss.

“I would come with you, if I could,” Rem assured her, reaching out a skeletal hand to rest on Kit’s shoulder, slowly so that the woman had time to move away if she chose.

“You see the world the same way,” Mello spoke, more tactfully than his usual, from where he was curled up with Ryuk in his chair. “It’s a rare thing, and something to be valued, no matter where you find it.”

“You will not be alone,” Rem reminded Kit, looking down at the fox that was sat at her feet, looking very confused. Kit remembered that Koinu had not touched the Notebooks and could not see the Shinigami. He didn’t look bothered that she was talking to some spectre he couldn’t see; indeed, he had the same adoring look as a dog rescued after months in the pound.

“You’ll only have the boys,” Kit reminded Rem, who sighed heavily. “Will you be able to visit?”

“L will visit you,” Rem was certain. “When he does we will meet again.”

“You know,” Light interrupted their conversation. He was in the middle of baking L a cake to celebrate solving the case. L had adorned him in a baby pink apron and Mello had added a bow in his hair; Light had tolerated it because, well, it was Mello. Mello did what he wanted – and the idea of explosives making their way into his underwear drawer, as Mello promised if he removed the bow, did not appeal. “There is a way Rem could go with you.”

“There is?” Kit looked delighted.

“The Shinigami who owns the Notebook must remain with its human possessor, at least most of the time,” Rem scowled. “I cannot remain.”

“What if L didn’t own the Notebook anymore?” Light suggested. Kit thought it was rather difficult to take anyone seriously, even Kira, if they had a dab of cake mix on the end of their nose, no doubt put there by L. “If Kit possessed the Notebook, you could go with her.”

“No,” Rem scolded fiercely. “If L is correct in his assessment and the Notebook changes its owner, I would not allow that for Kit.”

Light was silent for a long time, studying the Shinigami.

“Alright,” he agreed easily after a while. “Can Shinigami who are in the Shinigami realm visit the human world if no human owns the Notebook?”

“If a Death Note is in the human world, a Shinigami can enter the human world to reclaim it,” Rem considered. “If no human claimed it in 82 hours, the Shinigami would take the Note and return to the Shinigami realm. This is the only circumstance in which a Shinigami can be in the human world except if a human uses their Notebook or if they intend to kill them in the next 82 hours.”

“Why 82?” Kit asked curiously.

“Time moves differently in the Shinigami realm. It corresponds to three days in our world.”

“Can that be repeated?” Light asked practically.

“Yes,” Rem nodded. “But the Shinigami King would realise if it happened too often.”

“And you can watch humans from your realm?” Light clarified.

“Yes.”

“Then, if you were to take your notebook with you back to the Shinigami realm, you could visit Kit every so often, and keep an eye on her from afar the rest of the time to make sure she is safe?”

“I could,” Rem’s lips twitched into a smile, but it did not last, quickly resolving into suspicion. “Kira, would you make a plot that does not benefit you?”

“Ah,” Light held up his spatula, pointing it at the Shinigami. “That’s where you’re wrong. It does benefit me, which is why you will trust me when I say it will work.”

“What benefit could it have?” Kit frowned. “Rem has been a huge help to your investigation, and she’s so patient and quiet, why would you want to get rid of her?”

L, Light and Mello all looked at one another at Kit’s words, disbelief expressed with a look, but quickly shook it off.

“Rem is far nicer to you than she has ever been to any of us,” Light pointed out, daring the Shinigami to argue otherwise with a look. “She doesn’t just share your view that men are flawed, she actively hates humans – except you, it seems, and I don’t think she actually ever hated the previous owner of the Note, Misa. That hatred really includes us. She also has a personal grudge against me, one that I would rather not have held over my head whenever I’m near her.”

“Also,” L commented emotionlessly from his perch on a bar stool besides Light. “Kira intends to rid me of Rem’s Notebook.”

“Why…?”

“Don’t,” Mello understood immediately, his eyes widening in shock but warning Kit not to press the matter all the same. Why would L take such a risk? Would he not forget if he gave up ownership of the Death Note? He studied L warily. The world’s greatest detective held his gaze, picking up the spatula and beginning to systematically lick off the cake mix.

“You would forget,” Rem reminded L.

“Nope,” Light grinned, taking the spatula from L’s hand to wash and consoling him with a quick kiss. “I have a plan for that, too. If L were to forget the Note, he would forget me. The real me. I’m not about to let that happen.”

“How long have you been thinking about this?”

“Since last night,” Light shrugged. Kit frowned.

“Last night,” she confirmed. “And you’ve already got this all worked out?”

“Yes,” Light, like L, made his plans and deductions sound so simple. Perhaps to him they were. “I even asked Watari to have some things made. He will bring them with him when he comes to collect you, and if L agrees, we will be able to let Rem go.”

“And get rid of the temptation of a second Death Note,” Mello approved.

“Precisely,” Light began to pour the completed cake mix between two tins, the mix coloured with swirls of red and blue. “The team already has one Kira; we don’t need two.”

L did not comment, but did hold out his hand for the now emptied mixing bowl, swiping a long finger around the inside and licking off the cake mix.

“So, what do you think Rem?” Light finished once he had put the cakes in the oven.

“I…” Rem wasn’t sure what to say, liking the idea that she could return to the Shinigami realm and also approving that she would not have to leave Kit forever. She may not love the woman as Jelus had loved Misa, but she had begun to consider her as a friend, a rarity for the Shinigami. However, she did not want to hope. L would be unlikely to accept a plan that would risk him forgetting about the Death Notes and the Shinigami; that would put the world at risk from Kira again. Not wanting to hope, she therefore addressed her next question to L. “Do you trust him?”

L stopped his cleaning of the bowl with his hands, his eyes fixed on the worktop as he considered carefully.

“Ninety two percent,” he spoke softly.

“That’s less than when you took the chain off,” Light complained, hurt.

“Ninety two percent,” L confirmed, looking to Light. “Not just today, or tomorrow. Forever.”

“Oh,” Light breathed, understanding the weight behind the prediction. Though he was momentarily tempted to sweep up the detective into a hug, he settled for a kiss on the forehead. “I’m at eighty.”

“That you trust me?” L was emotionless; his guard up.

“That I trust myself,” Light explained. “I wish I could… I don’t want to hurt you. Not anymore.”

L studied him silently, trying to read the emotion behind the eyes; to find the truth behind Kira’s perfect lies.

“Ninety four percent,” L allowed, turning back to the bowl.

“Is that enough?”

“… yes,” L nodded slowly. “Whatever your plan is, I am willing to go ahead.”

“Ninety percent,” Light proffered, taking the emptied bowl from L’s hands to wash. “Rem?”

“As you wish,” the Shinigami appeared as unaffected as she ever had.


	16. Kira's Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conclusion and a beginning

Watari arrived two hours later than expected, delayed by the careful, precise craftsmanship required to create the items Light had ordered. The team were gathered in the sitting room, the chocolate cake with strawberry frosting cut and shared out between them; one slice left for Watari at Light’s insistence.

“Thank you, Watari,” Light took the paper bag from him, taking out one of the items to inspect closely. “This should be perfect.”

Mello grinned broadly. “That looks suspiciously like…”

“A handcuff,” Ryuk laughed. “An eye for an eye, Kira?”

“Kind of,” Light toyed with the metal, which at first glance looked solid but as he manipulated it, it became obvious that it was delicately jointed so that it moulded perfectly to any shape. “L, I need you to put this on so I can adjust it.”

“What is it for?” L asked curiously, but offered out his left wrist, the handcuff from the chain gone now that it was no longer being used to secure Light.

“This,” Light explained, carefully detaching one of the links from the cuff so that it could be moulded more exactly to L’s skin, “is how you’re going to remember, even though you won’t have a Death Note anymore. You will not forget your memories if you are permanently in contact with a piece of the Death Note. Each link has a hollow, which can have a piece of the Note held between your skin and the band, so that it never leaves contact with your skin.”

“The note is paper,” L reminded him. “It will eventually wear through if it is always in contact with skin.”

“That’s why this isn’t the only piece,” Light finished his corrections on the first bracelet, taking out another and repeating the corrections with the right wrist. “We can remove one bracelet at a time and replace the paper. The Death Note never runs out so we can always tear out more pages and put them into the bracelets.”

“And what if someone removes both of them?” L asked. There were too many things that could go wrong with this idea.

“Then you would forget,” Light shrugged, slightly flushed as if embarrassed. L studied him, curious. “The bracelets are really quite obvious, so it wouldn’t be surprising if someone removed them. That’s why I thought…”

He trailed off, so L snatched the bag, pinching in his long fingers as if it would bite as he looked inside.

He looked up at Light, mischief glinting in his knowing gaze.

“Oh, Light-Kira,” he purred, “I do.”

“No!” Light yelped. “No, L, don’t even joke about it…”

“Oh, but Kira my darling, do you not love me?” L widened his eyes for effect, pulling out the ring that remained in the bag and slipping it onto his fourth finger; a perfect fit. He held it up to the light as if admiring a diamond, though the band was plain and silver.

“L, cut it out,” Light grumbled. “It’s the only thing I could get that would be watertight and still hold the note against your skin, that’s all.”

“You mean this isn’t a proposal?” L looked to all intents and purposes like he was tearing up, but Light knew it was all a façade.

“L,” Light rolled his eyes, sinking back into the chair with a sigh. “You’ve been spending far too much time around Mello.”

“But Light, darling…”

“Seriously, cut it out,” Light frowned at him. “It’s not Mello you’re reminding me of, _Misa_.”

That shut L up, the detective physically flinching.

“Let’s do this,” he prompted after a moment to recover his pride. This idea was risky; if ever something happened to L or Light and they were separated long enough for the paper to degrade, if anyone managed to remove all three items, or if Light decided to stop renewing the paper, L would forget the notebooks and the Shinigami. He wasn’t sure whether that would mean he would forget that Light was Kira, or how much of the case would be removed from his memories. However, if ever he did forget he could be confident that Mello and Near would know about Kira and would be able to take action to come to his aid. The memories would only be lost for those who had actually used a Death Note, after all.

Light removed the assorted jewellery from him, cutting small fragments of his Notebook and weaving them securely into the prepared spaces in the jewellery, making sure each were perfectly fixed in place and could not be easily shaken loose. As each piece was complete he set the jewellery back in place on L’s arms.

“Rem,” Light acknowledged. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, Kira,” she nodded, watching L expectantly.

“Is there a particular way to do this?” he asked, stalling a little. Light looked concerned.

“You need only give me the Notebook and tell me you want to give up its ownership,” Rem confirmed. L had retrieved his Note from the bedroom safe whilst they had been waiting for Watari; he had been holding it for the last hour until his handler arrived and it was difficult to let go now it was in his hands again. It seemed to call to him; so many names to write, so many who deserved death for their crimes, and he could give it to them.

“L,” Light took the Notebook, setting it down on the coffee table. He reached into his pocket, handing L the Tarot card instead; Justice, the right way up this time. L studied it silently, resolve steeling his panda eyes.

“Rem,” L picked up the Death Note, determined. “Take this notebook back. I give up ownership of it.”

“As you wish,” Rem took the book, choosing not to remain any longer but phasing through the ceiling as she took flight.

L let out a breath, a tension releasing within him as he handed over the Notebook. He waited warily for his memories to fade; after a minute he realised that the bracelets and ring were doing their job perfectly. He turned to Light.

“Thank you,” he smiled his creepy smile, pulling Light in for a kiss.

“Thank you for trusting me,” Light murmured against his lips as they broke apart.

“Will I forget?” Kit asked them softly, considering the remaining Death Note beside Kira.

“No. You have never used the notebook, so even if this Note were destroyed, you would still remember. The rule only applies to those who have used it,” Light explained. “You won’t forget Rem, or your time here.”

“Good,” Kit smiled, “I don’t want to forget any of you.”

“We’ll see you again,” Light reminded her. “We’ll have to check on Koinu every once in a while, just to be sure he’s not escaping the cuffs and setting any more fires of course.”

“It’s gonna be weird,” Kit mused, looking at the fox that had again curled up in her lap. “I know he’s human… sort of anyway. I’m worried that I’ll get used to him like this, that he’ll become like a pet.”

Koinu’s ears flickered forward as his head lifted from her lap, studying her.

“I’m not sure he’ll mind,” Mello recognised, a grin curling his lips. “In fact, I wonder how he’d react if you got him a collar with your name on it?”

“He’s not a dog!” Kit scolded, too busy telling Mello off to realise that the fox seemed to be practically beaming in her lap. When she looked back down, it rolled onto its back, showing its belly.

“Definitely get him a collar,” Mello recommended. “And a leash.”

“You’re still insane,” Kit grumbled, picking up Koinu and placing him firmly back onto his feet. She looked the fox square in the eyes. “You’re not really into all that crap, are you?”

If it were possible for a fox to blush, the kitsune probably would have then. His tails laid flat down across her knees, his ears drooping sadly.

“Oh my god, you are!” Kit couldn’t help but laugh. “Sorry… it’s just…”

She trailed off, her own cheeks flushing a little as well.

“Unexpected,” she finished after a moment, letting the fox go. It curled back up in her lap, its tails covering its face, embarrassed. “Maybe we shouldn’t think about that sort of thing for a while? You’ve got thirteen months stuck like this before we can even have this conversation.”

Slowly, the tails peeled away from the fox’s face, showing one eye, which regarded her curiously, silently asking. L studied the pair like they were a case study; Kit was so quick to open her heart to this man-creature, even though they had only just met, even though they had only spoken once and even with all of his crimes. And even though he was currently a fox. Perhaps there was something behind the kitsune selecting her as its mate that made her so trusting – that, or he understood the human heart even less than he had considered before.

“Okay, I’m not ruling it out,” Kit admitted. Koinu’s tails moved entirely away from his face as he hopped up and licked her cheek.

“Are you ready to go?” Watari asked. The bags were all out at the cars, waiting for the team to follow them out.

“Yeah,” Kit picked up her fox and left first.

“Where are we going from here?” Light asked L curiously.

“To find another case,” L told him. “I said to Kit that we would start with the one from America that’s been on the news.”

“At least it’ll be warm there,” Light agreed. Mello untangled himself from Ryuk, standing with his hands in his pockets looking as awkward as Light had ever seen him.

“I can’t come with you,” Mello told them softly. “I have to go back to Wammy’s.”

“Don’t be silly,” Light frowned, confused. “You are part of the team – you have to come.”

“No,” Mello shook his head. “There is no team, there never was. There was always just going to be me and Near, no one else. Near has gone back to Wammy’s, so I must go back, too.”

“Near chose his path,” Light reasoned. “He chose to leave. You don’t have to go just because he pushed too far.”

“Yes, I do,” Mello sighed heavily. “Near and I… it’s like planets in orbit. We spin around each other, but if one of us breaks away, we could both fall into the sun and burn. I have to go back.”

“That’s…” Light was lost for words.

“…very mature of you,” L finished for him. “If you choose to go, you are free to do so. However, whenever you are ready, we would be glad of your assistance.”

“Thank you,” Mello smiled wryly. “I’m not sure what I will be going back to. Near… he won’t be dealing with this very well. He’s probably locked himself away somewhere using his toys to plot a thousand ways to kill me and take my place. That’s why I have to go.”

“I know,” L nodded.

“If you go back and he tries to kill you, please try not to blow up the whole of the country,” Light requested jokingly.

“We will let you know where we are,” L told him. “If you manage to convince Near to come back, join us.”

“We will,” Mello promised.

“Of course,” L continued, “There is a 42% chance that Near will not be at Wammy’s when you go back.”

“How so?” Mello had never been as good at weighing the possibilities of anything other than an attack.

“Near wants to prove himself as the next L,” L explained. “If he truly has decided to work alone, he will have already gone.”

“If that is the case, I will come join you in America,” Mello promised. “It would be nice to see what all the fuss is about.”

“I’m going to be so booored, Akane” Ryuk complained, curling his long arms and wings around Mello from behind, clutching the boy tightly to his chest.

“You’re going to one of the craziest places on the face of the earth,” Mello reminded him. “If I don’t join you there, make the most of it for me, won’t you?”

“Of course,” the Shinigami promised. “I will have Kira send you chocolates every day.”

“I can get my own,” Mello laughed, “but thank you, Ryuk, my friend.”

L collected the last of the items from the coffee table; a selection of Kit’s photos from the time during the case. He offered one to Mello, one that they had not noticed Kit taking at the time; the whole team at the dining table early in the case; Mello and Near arguing, the elder of the two-half done up in his feminine outfit, for the day Ryuk’s arms curled around him, Near’s expression emotionless, Rem hovering in the back, L and Light cuffed and chained together at the wrists. Mello grinned.

“We’re all orphans, at Wammy’s,” he commented wryly, “but for a while we had a strange little family going there, didn’t we?”

“I suppose so,” L smiled sadly. “If you can, bring Near back with you?”

“I promise, I will try,” Mello swore seriously. However, he was still Mello. A grin split his face, mischief lighting his eyes.

“Kira,” he addressed Light, “would that make you the Mommy in the family?”

“Mello,” Light grinned right back. “I think I’m actually going to miss you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A soppy ending just before Valentine's day - very fitting, I hope. Thank you for reading this story - as you can tell it is open ended - the first chapter of the sequel will be posted before the week is over, so you won't have long to wait. Don't expect things to remain so happy and soppy; the boys are currently on a post-case victory high, but when this settles... back to their usual selves.
> 
> Let me know what you think, I try to answer all comments, and really appreciate kudos if you liked the story.
> 
> This is a bit of my neuroticism showing through, but I wanted to compare how long this little story, written over 1 month, was compared to a book with which we are familiar so I had a look at Another Note the LA BB murders - which is apparently 53,000 words long... in other words, this is actually almost exactly the same length. A happy accident, and I can't believe how much was written in less than 1 month - especially with the sequel over half written as well.
> 
> Keep your eyes open for the DD murders, coming very soon.


End file.
